The L Word And The Complications That Arise When It Comes Into Play
by WishIHadATimeTurner
Summary: :AU,Offscreen/RL based,see notes: With everything from dirt sheet reporters, to nosy and well intentioned family standing in their way, will Ashley Webber and Dean Ambrose be able to put aside their problems, baggage and fears to make things work? Or will the pressure make them walk away and give up before they even really have a beginning?
1. foreword,notes,disclaimers

AUTHORS NOTES:

I do not own the WWE or any of it's respective trademarks, characters and what have you. I don't do this for money or something and I'm not looking to better myself as a writer. The only thing I do own is my original character, who will be paired with Dean Ambrose, and the situation I've taken the liberty of throwing the two of them into.

LET IT BE NOTED:

I'm using a mix of scripted/reality (Ie, onscreen and offscreen) stuff, so to make things easier, I'm just going to use their ring names when I'm writing about them. The largest portion of this bizarre little love story, however, will happen offscreen.

I'm Team Roman, but apparently, I have acquired an Ambrose musi who wishes to have a story written. And when this idea presented itself, I had to give it a proper go. **I only have the first chapter written for it, but if it gets a good response, and people seem to want more, I'll gladly continue.**

OOC ness may occur, like I said, I usually prefer to write fanfictions about other fandoms as of late(ones I know a little bit more about their characters and such) but I've often wondered what would happen if I actually tried writing a wrestling fanfiction again?. So, I'm trying it out.

Go easy on me, please?

WARNINGS:

eventual sex, innuendo throughout the story.. Apparently, when I write Ambrose, he's a horny bastard. And I am a naughty pervert, so yes, there will be dirty jokes, sexual innuendo and a lemon or two here and there. If this is not your thing, the lemons will be marked M, skip over them.

swearing.. Because if Ambrose isn't swearing, honestly, he isn't breathing. And I swear like a sailor on leave, so yeah.. If swearing somehow offends any delicate sensibilities, you might not want to read this story, because it won't be cut down.

as I mentioned before, there will most likely be ooc moments. bear with me on those, I really am going to try my best not to make this so badly ooc that it can't be read.. But given as I'm not really familiar with a lot of Ambrose's past work before the WWE/FCW, I'm just not sure how good it'll be. But I wanted to write this so...

SUMMARY:

Love and the concept of love at first sight, -or first spill, rather-, aren't things that either Ashley Webber nor Dean Ambrose believe in. She's jaded, cynical, emotionally closed off and a bit of a bitch at times. He's a ladies man, he's into having his little conquests then leaving before he forms an attachment. But when the WWE does a show in Biloxi and their paths cross in a sports bar after said show, it leaves both parties wanting more..

When Dean Ambrose gets it into his head that he wants something, we all know he'll stop at nothing to get it.. But has he met his match in feisty mechanic Ashley Webber? Or will she eventually let him in?

Ashley Webber has spent the majority of her life building walls and keeping people out. But has she met her match in the relentless pursuits of Dean Ambrose? Or will she manage to keep the determined and cocky 'ice king' out of her heart?

It'll be a long uphill battle for both parties, that's the only thing that is certain,complete with people out to break them up, the constant attention of the dirt sheet reporters, and everything under the sun stacked against them, not to mention their own personal issues and pasts.

Can two people with this much wrong in their lives actually be right for each other? Or will this be a crash and burn?


	2. the chase begins

Ashley wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary when she walked into her local watering hole, sat down on the barstool and ordered a few shots of Jack Daniels while watching everyone else dance and talk, play pool or darts. All she wanted was to unwind, let her hair down after a long day's work at the local auto garage she co owned with her uncle Vinnie.

Her warm brown eyes caught on the monitor behind the bar, she got sucked into the last hour of a replay of the night's Monday Night Raw, which had coincidentally been held in her town, Biloxi. She shook her head as she slammed back a shot and laughed at some of the stuff happening on the screen. "Is this from that show they did over at the arena tonight? I wanted to go, just didn't get to.. That coulda been me on that screen though.. Almost.."

The bartender laughed and said casually, "Yeah, it's from tonight.. Say, didn't you go off to that wrestling school for a while there?" as he looked at her. She nodded and sipping her whiskey said quietly, "Yeah, but mama got sick, had nobody to take care of her, remember? Besides, she made no secret of how she felt, me pursuing a career in professional wrestling so I kinda just gave it up."

Sometimes she missed it, but if the Diva lineup she was seeing was anything to go by, she felt like she might not be missing much because if she were a professional wrestler, she'd probably never get a match on live television. She hadn't been exceptional at it or anything to begin with, and she definitely didn't have the looks of any of these girls on the screen right now.

Keep Your Hands To Yourself came on the jukebox and some drunken man down the bar shouted something, Ashley laughed before getting back to her quiet drinking and observing the room. The bartender stopped in front of her and then said casually, "Some of 'em are over in the VIP area."

"You have a VIP area?" Ashley asked in amusement as the bartender gave a shrug then said with a smirk, "I do tonight, I reckon." as he nodded his head towards a more secluded part of the sports bar.

She gave the group of males a dismissive once over and averted her eyes quickly. They probably spent at least 90 percent of their time being hassled by fans, she wasn't about to add to it and go , she wasn't interested in becoming a groupie or a ring rat or something, and she highly doubted that even if she were, any of the men in the 'vip area' would be interested in a plain nothing girl like herself. Instead, she fixed her eyes back on the program as it replayed on the set over the bar, and just got into it, laughing and yelling with some of the other patrons who were probably twice as drunk as she was.

From behind her, she heard a male say drunkenly, "Cerveza, por favor." as he sloshed his alcohol everywhere, laughing, a cocky grin on his face as he looked at her a moment. She scowled a little, not amused. "Mind not givin me a shower in that shit?" she asked as he looked at her and then said casually, "Maybe if ya weren't sitting right fucking under me.."

"Right because I totally haven't been sitting here for the past 2 hours almost. It's totally my fault you're spilling your shit all over me. Forgive me, sir." Ashley muttered in sarcasm as the guy raised a brow at her then slid onto the empty stool beside hers. She rolled her eyes as she waved over the bartender, ordered another series of shots and slammed the first one back, adding the shotglass to the growing small pyramid of shot glasses in front of her of which there were at least 9 currently.

Dean Ambrose eyed her with a curious look in his bright and icy blue eyes as he asked, "Drink here a lot?"

"Every night after work." she muttered as she yelled at a match playing on tv. Dean's eyes followed her intent gaze to the television and he said with a bragging smirk, "I'm on that."

Ashley turned to him and barely supressing a smirk she said in amusement, "You are, huh?" humoring him mostly, not realizing he actually was on the roster and he had been on the show that night. She hardly got to watch professional wrestling anymore between work and sleeping to get back up and go to work again, so she **didn't** really know who he was.

Dean stared at her a moment. He got the distinct feeling that she had no clue who he was, or that he was telling the truth. He had the feeling she thought for whatever reason, he was feeding her a line. "I really am. Ever heard of the Shield?"

She studied him with an amused look and then said "Never said I didn't believe ya, hon. Just don't see why it matters, really." as she went back to watching the show stealing covert glances at him when he wasn't watching her, thinking to herself, _'Sexy as hell.. Too bad he fuckin blew it when he lied to me about being somethin he wasn't and tried to spit game while not being himself.. Like I'd have liked him any more or less, if he'd just come over here like a normal fuckin guy, told me his name and stuff.. I'm not lookin for love anyway because it doesn't fuckin exist.' _while One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer played in the background. Dean sat watching her intently, not sure why he was even bothering with the girl, really, she apparently wasn't interested in him, which shocked him for the most part, and she apparently wasn't much of a chatty person. And normally, he only liked the chatty type of girl. Normally, he only really went for the knockouts or the girls he knew he could easily have sex with. He wasn't much for the chase.

But the fact that she seemed infalliable to his pickup attempts had him perplexed and posed a welcome challenge for the male, so he decided that tonight could be a fun night... After all, they'd be leaving town in the next few days, two days from tonight, to be exact, and it wasn't like he had to take her hand in marriage or something.

He made a bet with himself that he could definitely get in her pants by the end of the two days. When he looked up from his private mental meanderings, however, the stool she'd been sitting on was vacant, and his blue eyes scanned the bar quickly. He breathed in sharply when he realized that she wasn't gone yet. She was in the back of the bar, shooting a game of pool with a noisy group of guys, laughing. And he decided that maybe she wasn't worth the waste of two whole days in town. She probably wasn't even a good screw anyway, to be honest. And that was all he needed or wanted, was just someone to sleep with. He didn't and he'd never do the relationship thing, he'd told himself that a long time ago. However, his next thought surprised him a little, as it was totally from left field as he found himself watching her, licking his lips, his throat suddenly dry or something.

_'She's kinda sexy.. In a different way. But you cannot let this stand, her complete lack of interest in you. All the girls give in sooner or later, Good. Get your ass in there and do something about it.' _he thought to himself as he stood, intent on walking back over to Seth and Roman, forgetting the whole thing, ignoring that little devil sitting on his shoulder and the personal bet he'd made with himself just now. No girl was worth getting sprung over, and he wasn't even going to be in town long enough..

Besides that, it wasn't as if there was some shortage of girls willing to cater to his every little whim.

A tap to his shoulder had him turning around and he looked at his two friends, his stablemates as he asked stiffly, "What?"

"Did I actually just see Mr. Ladies Man himself strike out?" Seth asked, smirking in mild amusement as Roman bit back a laugh and pointed out, "Whatever you're thinking, man, just don't do it."

Dean gave Seth a go to hell look and then said "I did not strike out. Just decided she wasn't worth wastin time on is all." in a stiff voice as Seth howled in laughter and said "You struck out. Or you wouldn't be sitting here all sullen and scowling."

Angrily, he stormed off, Roman asking from behind him, "Where the hell are you even going, man?" as he looked at Seth who snickered and said quietly "20 bucks he goes over to the girl again. I pissed him off."

Roman groaned inwardly and then said "This isn't gonna be pretty. She doesn't look like one of his usual bimbos."

"So I noticed." Seth said as he smirked and watched their friend and the 3rd member of their little stable wandering over towards the pool tables just as the brunette was bending over and about to take a shot.

She'd just been about to hone in on a killer shot when she heard a whisper, felt warm breath blowing slowly on her neck and turning to come face to face from the guy at the bar, she scowled and then asked, "What?"

"Just thought ya might wanna dance."

"I don't dance, guy."

Dean studied her a moment and then stepped back, waving his hands, a smirk on his face as he asked a guy nearby, "You guys playing for stakes?" because he noticed a growing stack of money on one of the side rails of the table. When the guy nodded, he slammed down a fifty dollar bill and said "I got winner."

Ashley scowled to herself as she shrugged and then said "Suit yourself, guy. I'm gonna enjoy kicking your ass though." while eyeing him and smirking mirthlessly. He eyed her and giving a snort of laughter, he muttered calmly, "Pool's a guys game."

"Sure it is, hon." Ashley said in a mocking tone as she made her final shot then shoved the racking triangle at him and said "Rack away. I'm gonna go make a Jack run." before skipping off to the bar.

Across the bar, Roman and Seth sat watching Dean intently, trying not to burst into laughter as Roman mused, "That poor girl doesn't know whether to kick him in the balls or just keep letting him try. But it's seriously annoying her."

"I noticed. So, do you think he's actually into her, or she's just a conquest?" Seth asked as he sipped on a beer, watched the girl grabbing a bottle of Jack from the bartender, then blending back into the crowd.

"She's totally a conquest. Dean only loves Dean, remember?" Roman said as he watched the curvy brunette wearing the ripped and oil stained skin tight jeans, a Jack Daniels hoodie, an Alabama baseball cap and heavy soled black boots make her way back across the bar to the area with the pool tables. She was cute, but definitely not what Ambrose typically tried to get into bed with.

She looked like the girl next door. The very pretty and totally unaware of it girl next door. She had a sort of nerdy tomboy vibe to her if he had to be honest, given the thick black framed slightly oversized glasses she wore. Like she didn't give a damn if she were considered cute or fuckable or not. She was what she was. Which was not the kind of girl that normally caught Dean's eye, so currently, both males who were here with him tonight sat trying to figure out what had drawn Dean to her in the first place.

Dean watched the way her hips moved as she slunk back over to the pool tables, shoved the bottle of Jack at him and said "Here. It's as close as an apology as you're gonna get for my earlier bitchiness, hon."

Her accent caressed his ears, but he ignored that fact and instead popped the cork from the bottle of Jack Daniels, took a long swig from the bottle as he held it out to her.

"I don't drink after strangers, guy. Besides, I got my own damn bottle." Ashley pointed out, holding up her bottle of Jack Daniels, sipping from it slowly. At the rate he was going, he'd have to be poured into a cab at last call, no doubt. The thought had her smirking a little. Obviously the guy couldn't actually hold his liquor.

Then again, everyone didn't come from a family where alcoholism ran rampant, and it was consumed like water, either. She had, so she was obviously a little more tolerant to it's effects. Which was a good thing, because it meant she was still relatively sharp and she couldn't make any slip ups, let her guard down and do something completely stupid like take this guy home...

She scowled at her train of thought and then clearing her throat asked, "Gonna shoot anytime this century, guy?"

Dean grumbled and took the first shot, sending a striped green at a side pocket. "Stripes."

"Really.." she muttered, sarcastic smirk crossing her face as she took the stick, leaned over and pulled off a slightly tricky shot, pouting as it bounced off the side wall.

"Fucked." she muttered as Dean chuckled a little and said assertively, "Told you girls don't shoot pool."

"Keep right on thinkin that, pig." Ashley shot back as his hand gripped her wrist and he stared into her warm brown eyes a moment, menacingly. She snatched her wrist free as she leaned in and whispered, "Next time you even think of pulling shit like that, guy.. You'll be staring up at me from the floor, on your back.. Got it?"

Dean leaned in and sneered, "Feisty one, aren't you? But you were scared just now, I can tell."

Ashley chuckled and rolling her eyes said calmly, "Guys like you don't scare me. Lived with ya kind all my damn , guys like you are the reason I know how to shoot a 30 alt 6." as she held his gaze calmly, confidently, a bit of her own cocky smirk playing across her lips as she tangled her hand through her long and thick, messy dark brown hair. He looked at her a moment and then saying nothing, took the poolstick from her, taking another shot.

But he watched her intently as she took her own 3 shots, then shotgunned half the bottle in her thin delicate and slightly oil stained hands, mostly curious about her and what she'd just said moments ago. He stated boldly, "This game's got stakes.. Loser has to take the winner out or somethin." to which she laughed at and shrugged then pointed out mildly, "Sure you wanna do that, guy? I mean I'm not bragging, but I'm wipin the table with your ass.." as she took a long pull from the bottle. He smirked and then said with a shrug, "Unless ya chicken. Scared of me?"

"Not in the slightest, guy." Ashley smirked as she shoved the poolstick at him and said with a smirk, "Your shot, guy.. Don't blow it.." while stifling a laugh at her little dirty joke.

"How about you blow somethin?" Dean suggested as Ashley snickered and said "Sure.. Just as soon as ya gimme a tweezer and a microscope, stud."

"So you do think I'm sexy, huh?" He asked, his brow quirking suggestively.

She waved him off, rolling her eyes, refusing to comment.. Yes, she thought he was sexy, but so far, he was proving to her exactly why she didn't really date much.. All men were the same as her father had been, her ex fiancee.. Sooner or later, the charm flew out the window and the shit hit the fan. And besides that, a guy who was as sexy and confident as him, he could have any girl in this place, so the fact that he was wasting a night in relentless pursuit of her, well.. It made her question his sanity and his motives. Because she wasn't pretty, she wasn't some flirty type of girl and she damn sure didn't have what it might take to keep a guy like him interested.

By the end of the game, he'd managed to piss her off at least 8 times, and he'd wanted to either strangle her or kiss her alternately even more than that. But he still managed to write everything from the night off, and as he let Roman and Seth pour him into their rented Range Rover, he called out to her, "See ya around."

Ashley waved it off and called back, "But how? You don't even know my name.. And I'm not gonna tell ya either. Think of it as a challenge.. You find out my name, maybe I'll agree to let you take me out or something."

As Roman and Seth got him into the backseat, he muttered to himself, "Challenge accepted." as his two friends groaned and exchanged a glance, Roman reminding him that they left town in 2 days, there was just no way possible he'd ever find out her name, and most likely, he wouldn't see her again. Dean argued drunkenly, "So? I'm gonna do this. I cannot just let her shut me out like that. Chicks don't do that to me, damn it. I'm not gonna let it start to happen now."

"Fuck." Roman and Seth muttered as Seth asked, "Okay then, what's your next move?"

Dean glared at him and holding up a middle finger, he said quietly, "She goes to that bar every single night. I'll ask around, somebody will tell me her name and shit.. What the fuck do you think, Rollins?"

"Well, a normal guy would just let it go." Seth pointed out as Roman glared at him and mouthed, "Way to stir shit up, you know how he gets when he drinks. Thanks a lot, Seth."

Dean watched the cars go by as he planned out his next 'phase of attack.' He had two days to make her cave in. And if tonight were anything to go by, he'd have to make the best of both days, if he even had a chance at adding her as a notch to his belt. But somewhere deeper down, even if he never admit it, when he'd met her tonight, something about her just.. It reminded him of himself in some ways, and the wounded look to her eyes.. It made him want to be the guy who proved her wrong about guys..

He scowled at himself, reminded himself mentally he was not the romantic guy, he was the love 'em and leave 'em type, and he always had been and would be that type. It was gonna take one hell of a lot more to make him want to settle.

So he stubbornly kept telling himself this was just about the conquest. There was no emotion whatsoever involved. There was no curiousity about her either. He didn't want to know her, he simply wanted to bed her. Once he'd done that, this entire bullshit could be put behind him. The sooner the better.


	3. the chase begins, pt I

He sat near the door to the bar, nursing a beer unlike the night before when he'd been drinking whiskey and getting completely and totally crocked. The bartender asked calmly, "You waitin on someone, son?"

"Actually, man, yeah.. This girl with real long brown hair.. She comes in every night, I mean that's what she said.." Dean said as he slammed back the remainder of his beer, waited on the man to say something that might help him. The man studied him for a moment and said "You're one of those professional wrestlers?"

Dean gave a nod, the man studied him a moment longer and said calmly, "Lots of girls come in here every single night after work, son. Any particular girl you're lookin for? I mean did she give ya a name?"

Dean grumbled then said quietly, "Nope.. Told me if I found out her name, sir.. She'd let me take her out or something.. Since she kicked my ass at pool 3 times last night."

"Well, what was she wearing?" The man asked in curiousity.. He had a girl in mind, but the particular one he had in mind wasn't really all that fond of most men. And something about this guy in front of him screamed bad news.. But maybe the kid wasn't as bad as the vibe he gave off was. So he looked at the guy and asked, "Well? Or can ya remember, son?"

"Torn jeans with like oil on 'em or something, a hoodie, a baseball cap and engineer boots.. She had these real big glasses too. She was kind of a smartass?" Dean said questioningly as he scratched his head, debating on whether his just staking out this bar all day long was going to be a bust or if he'd actually find out something about the scrappy yet sexy brunette from the night before.

"Sounds like Ashley Webber." the bartender mused aloud as he said "But she's not a real big fan of people in general. So either she got real drunk last night, son, which hardly happens with that one, or you just wanna get to know her." while looking at Dean, his gaze intent as if he were trying to feel out the intentions. Dean glared a moment and said "I wanna get to know her or something, shit, I dunno." quietly as he sipped the last of his beer, paid for another one and asked, "What do you know about her though?"

"Well, other than she's head mechanic down at that garage on East street, kid.. Her daddy was a real bad man, he was a regular here and at county lockup. Her mama wasn't much better, she was one of those strict and old fashioned women, bit of an alcoholic herself. Poor kid's had about as rough a life as you can have without completely losin it." the bartender said as Dean took in the little bits of information then asked, "She come in here every night?"

The bartender mulled it over then said "She won't be in here tonight, kid. Tonight's cards night. Probably why she told ya if ya found out her name and such she'd let ya take her out. She knew ya wouldn't see her anytime soon." as he looked at the guy a moment, smirking in amusement.

Dean scowled and said "She's at that garage now, right?"

"Son, she just about lives at that garage. Only thing that girl loves more than herself and her privacy is fighting and cars." the bartender said as Dean slid off the barstool and paid for his other beer, then made his way out the doors of the bar and into the cool midday air. He texted Roman and Seth, letting them know that he had actually found something out about the girl from the night before, and then after putting his phone away, he focused on finding the garage.

He stood in the parking lot a few moments, leaned against an antique lamp post, smoking the last of his cigarette, staring at the building's doors trying to figure out why the hell this one thing, this one task was so damn important to him suddenly. "Fuck it.. Just get in her pants already. Then she'll be outta ya system." he mused to himself right as the double doors to the garage opened and the girl in question stepped out, sitting down on the curb, lighting a cigarette of her own, hands shielding the cigarette from the wind.

Ashley leaned back, exhaling smoke deeply, calming herself. She looked around the parking lot, got the distinct feeling she was being watched almost intently. She scowled when she happened to see him, the man from the bar last night, leaned against an antique lamp post, smoking his own cigarettes. For a split second her heart fluttered a little, but she put it off to not having had good lay in a long time and stood stretching, called out to the guy with a smirk, "Take a picture, guy.. It'll last longer." as she inhaled and exhaled having taken another long pull from the cigarette.

Dean started over slowly, trying to figure out a witty comment to respond with, but he hadn't found one by the time he stood in front of her. "Ya work here?"

"Lemme guess, girls don't know cars either, huh bud?" Ashley asked with a taunting smirk as Dean shrugged and said "So ya hustle people at pool, ya co own a garage and ya like to fight.."

"Mhmm, your point?" Ashley asked taking a quick look at her watch. Her break was almost over. Dean's eyes caught on her bandaged hand and he asked, "How the hell did you do that?"

"Shit happens when you're under the hood of a tempermental 72 Nova apparently." Ashley mused as she asked, "And you.. that black eye?"

"Shit happens when you're in the ring with a guy almost twice your size." Dean muttered with a smirk as his eyes roamed slowly over her body and he shuffled his feet, raking his hand through his shaggy hair.

"So you're still gonna say that, huh? That you're a pro wrestler? Look man, if you wanna get in my pants, lying's probably not the best way to do that." Ashley mused watched his expression as it changed from smug to shocked. She laughed and said "What? You thought I was one of those airheaded broads or something?"

"So you knew what I wanted last night."

"And I decided that the only one who's gonna be responsible for me caving in is me. If I wanna have sex I have at least 10 guys I can call. Your approach kind of had me curious though.." Ashley admitted with a slight laugh as she added, "Gotta admit.. Didn't expect to see you, especially not today."

"Well I'm here now." Dean smirked as he leaned in and added in a smug whisper, "Ashley Webber.. Right?"

She paled and then palmed her face as she remembered calling out her challenge to him as he left the bar the night before. Hell, she'd honestly figured he was like any other guy, he'd forgotten not only her, but her little challenge from last night upon awakening this morning.

"Well then, color me impressed.. You found out my name. Still doesn't mean sh-" she started only to have him hold his index finger to her lips as he mockingly reminded her, "If you find out my name, maybe I'll let ya take me out or somethin." before falling silent, watching her face. If he'd ever seen a clearer case of a 'deer in headlights' look, he'd be damned. She stammered a few moments then said grumpily, "Still doesn't mean anything.. Why the hell is takin me out so damn important anyway.. If you want to get laid, why not just skip the bullshit and approach me about it already."

"Because ya buddy the bartender told me ya a bit of a wildcat. Not takin my chances.. I don't hit women.. Anymore." Dean admitted with an offhanded shrug. Ashley laughed then said "Something tells me not to put the women thing past ya." as she lit another cigarette and took a sip of a soda in her jacket's pocket, exhaling another thick plume of smoke.

Dean studied her a moment calmly and said "Kinda pissed though.. Ya boy the bartender, well, he seems to think ya might have lied to me last night.. Said ya don't go in the bar every night after work. I don't like being lied to." as he smirked. He thought he'd look at her and see her pale in fear, see those big brown eyes of hers go wide, instead, she leaned in and said "Funny.. But I recall you're the one who lied first, bud.. See, I'm pretty damn sure you're not a professional wrestler."

He glared and then smirking asked, "How the hell would you know the difference?"

Ashley shrugged and said "You might be a fighter, bud.. But you're not some muscle bound meathead like those other guys on that show were last night.. Or the ones in the so called VIP area. And funny, but if ya were.. Then ya would have been in the vip area, right? And you damn sure wouldn't have wasted half the fuckin night trying to get me into bed.. I'm not your type, if it's true and you actually are who you keep claimin to be. Trust me." with a smirk.

She just knew she had him,dead to rights, but then it happened.. A girl walked over, giggling, and tapped him. Dean rolled his eyes and muttered something about women and their immaculate time when it came to fucking up something or interrupting someone or something important.

"You're Dean Ambrose!"

"Yeah."

"Can I have your autograph?" she asked, her green eyes begging him to say yes. He studied her a moment, looked over at Ashley and then demanded the female fan, "Explain to my girl here,please, that I am on the WWE roster? She doesn't believe me."

"Because, guy, men happen to be full of more shit than a backed up the ones like you." Ashley explained patiently with a roll of her brown eyes. The girl gave her a weird look and then said "He's **the** Dean Ambrose.. As in the leader of the Shield? The most badass stable in wrestling?" before turning to Dean, practically undressing him with her eyes in the process. Ashley almost laughed, but then a slight pang of jealousy and annoyance kicked in for some unknown reason and the laugh died on her lips...

Ashley studied the girl, then studied Dean a moment, grumbled and said "Fuck it. Not sure why a damn famous person wants to get in my pants, but hey.. Not gonna keep arguing about you not being or being this person you say you are." as the girl asked Dean, "She won't like.. Beat me up if I ask you something, right?"

Dean turned to Ashley who smirked at the girl mischeviously and quipped, "Nah, you're good hon.. I ate two bowls of my special bitch flakes today, so I won't snap. Besides, it's not like he belongs to me or something, shit." while shuffling her feet impatiently. The girl leaned in and whispered something to Dean, handing him a marker, lifting her shirt a slight bit. He grumbled, bit his lip and signed his name while covertly rolling his eyes. And for some reason, Ashley did feel just a tiny bit jealous at the girl in that moment, but again she wrote the feeling off.

He was **not** getting to her that easy.

Dean, however, saw the telltale signs of jealousy for a split second, but she quickly masked them and averted her gaze from him as she said "Not saying I believe you.. But it's gotta be annoying as all fuck when girls do that, huh?"

"Actually, I kinda used to like it. Still do. You though.. you were jealous.. Weren't you?" Dean asked calmly, as he studied her, a smug grin on his face.

Until she leaned in and laughing a little said quietly, "If you want an STD, man.. Don't let little old me stop you by all means. You don't seem to get it, Dean.. I'm not like those other girls you're used to.. I don't honestly care."

He studied her a moment and then laughing said "So you were just balling your fists up for no reasons, huh? You just looked furious for a split second there... In my imagination."

Ashley laughed and nodding said calmly, "Basically yeah." as she looked at her watch. She had 25 more minutes for lunch, and parts of her suspected that if she didn't just cave and let him get her something to eat, he'd never quit bothering her.. Parts of her, deeper down, liked that fact.. Other parts of her knew that if she did let him keep coming around, she'd wind up getting close to him, she'd wind up getting hurt or disappointed by him. Or she'd wind up making a total mess of things.

Either way, it'd never work out for the two of them.

"You hungry?" she asked as Dean looked at her, shrugged and said "I could eat, yeah."

"C'mon. My car's over here. We'll go get food. Then this thing? You'll drop it. I'm not worth the waste in time, Dean."

"Call me Jon." Dean said as he added, "Dean's my ring name."

She nodded and then asked, "Seafood's cool, right?"

He shrugged and followed her across the parking lot to her car, a fully restored 77 Trans Am that she'd apparently made look like the original Bandit edition Trans AM.

"Nice car." Dean mused as he got into the passenger seat, looking around the lot.. Dirt sheet reporters tended to follow the roster members like the plague, the last thing he wanted was his face all over some fucking internet wrestling tabloid or something. He suspected Ashley wouldn't be thrilled at it, either, should she be in the candid taken.

Across the parking lot, a reporter, hidden from view, snapped a few candids and smirked to himself as he muttered, "Now this.. Just might be an interesting story for the fans. Especially the ladies." before getting into a Camry and driving away as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

The radio in the Trans AM kicked on, Ted Nugent blaring as Dean shifted his gaze to her. She shrugged and said "Driver picks the tunes, passenger shuts their pie hole, got it?" while focusing intently on the road, the signs, anything but those damn knee weakening blue eyes of his.

Because he was **not **getting to her. She was **not** about to let that happen.


	4. the chase begins, pt II

They pulled into the parking lot of a seafood restaurant called Bubba's and Dean studied her a moment as she put the car into park, dug around in the console for something. "So.. what made ya change ya mind about me takin ya out?" he asked in curiousity as she looked at him and said calmly, "Because, if ya didn't, I got the feeling you'd just keep coming around. Really all I'm doing, Jon, is keepin ya from making an idiot out of yourself." while taking a sip of her bottle of soda then said "If you're too much of a puss to eat the spicy stuff, they have burgers too. Just do not order the double decker. It's as big as your face, highly doubt you'd be able to finish it."

Dean studied her a moment and then said "You barely know me, yet you keep making all these assumptions."

"You gotta maintain a certain weight, Jon.. Those things are loaded with grease." Ashley informed him as she smirked a little. He scowled at her and then said "Hahaha, not funny. I think, Ms. Smartass, I will get the double decker, just to show ya now." as he smirked at her. She shrugged and muttered, "Your funeral, Jon, not mine." as she slid out her window, hopped down and stood in the parking lot, waiting.

"Something wrong with opening the door like a normal person?"

"Handle's broken." Ashley pointed out, leaned against the side of the car, smoking what smelled like a Black & Mild, a vanilla one at that. He looked at her, brow raised and said "You smoke cigars?"

She shrugged and then laughing said "Let me guess.. Girls don't do that either, huh?"

"Not often, no." Dean said as he studied her a few moments, smirked to himself. So far, this was proving to be one of his more interesting conquests. At least she wasn't like the airheads and the models he usually tried to bed. At least she was trying to put up a decent fight in keeping him out.

They walked into the restaurant and she slid into a booth in the corner of the place, grabbing a menu, then sliding the second one across the table to him. She watched him silently, still amused, still curious as to why he didn't just forget her, like she'd thought he would, the night before. Tearing open a ketchup packet with her teeth, she squirted it into her mouth, Dean grimaced visibly and then asked, "Why the fuck would you just eat the ketchup?"

"Habit maybe? Why? Bothering you?" Ashley taunted as she licked ketchup from her fingers and let her eyes wander over the menu that sat open in front of her. "Think I'm gonna get the cheeseburger." she muttered as she looked at him a moment then asked, "So... Assuming you are who you claim to be.. How long are you in town for?"

"Why? Thinking you might wanna spend some time with me or something?" Dean challenged, holding her gaze intently as he studied her face. She chuckled and giving an eye roll she said "Oh man.. you really don't know when somethin's a lost cause there, do ya?" as she fixed her own gaze on his intently, smirking at him.

"You might say it's a lost cause, Ashley.. But I happen to think that you and I both know otherwise." Dean said confidently, as he studied the menu and added without looking up from it, "It's inevitable, Ashley.. You will eventually give in to me. It always happens. And I can see in those big brown eyes of yours that deep down? You really want to. Why bother fighting it?"

She snickered at his assessment on her deepest hidden wants and desires -even though deep down, on some level, she knew he was calling it like he saw it and he was 100 percent right - and then taking another packet of ketchup and repeating the same thing she'd done earlier, eating the ketchup, licking it from her fingers, she muttered offhandedly, "Because, Jon.. If I wanted to cave in, don't you think I'd have done it, last night, when we were leaving the bar?"

"Ya lying." he insisted, his bright and icy blue eyes taking on a challenging and slightly menacing gleam as he fixed them on her, leaned in, his finger trailing over her lower lip slowly, casually. She shrank back and glared then muttered something, rolling her eyes. He chuckled and muttered calmly, "This piss and vinegar thing? It's an act."

"No, Jon, it actually isn't. I am actually an ice cold bitch. I get that you're used to girls just dropping their panties and shit for you, but trust me.. I will not be doing that. So if that's what all this is about, you might as well just drop the whole thing. Because I've got a vibrator and I can always sit on top of my washing machine when it's on high speed spin. You can't seriously be that hard up. I mean trust me.. There are a lot of females out there that look so much better and are so much more willing than me. Do you really want to walk around with a perpetual case of blue balls until you leave town?"

Dean mulled it over and then smirking, gave a snort of laughter and said "Ya got a filthy mouth."

Ashley took a bite of the rolls that sat between them after buttering one and mused aloud, "Yeah, I hear that a lot."

He stared at her a moment and then said calmly, "If I thought ya meant ya wouldn't give in, Ashley.. I'd get up and walk away. I'd get away so fast that your head would literally spin.. But see, I happen to think ya lying. And I happen to want something.. And I'm not a guy who's known for giving up until he gets whatever the hell he wants." as he took a roll, buttered it, took a bite while letting his announcement sink in.

She laughed and then said "Oh man.. you really have no idea what you're up against, do ya? You don't know me, for one thing, so for you to automatically assume that I'm lying is funny, it really is.. And for another thing, Jon.. Just because you want something? Doesn't always mean you're gonna get it. Trust me, I know that well." as she stared at her nails for a moment, drumming her fingers against the wooden surface of the table that sat between them.

Dean watched her intently, then laughing said " Well, you don't know me either, Ashley.. So when I say that what I want, I usually get? It's not a lie.. It's not me being a cocky prick either.. It's me being honest. One way or another, if I want something, I get it. And I'll do whatever I have to do to get it."

"But is a less than amazing screw really worth it? I mean I'm not those girls you're probably used to, being such a 'famous' wrestler and all that, I'd be mediocre at best..Because trust me.. I'd probably bore you to death in bed." Ashley scoffed as she watched him nearly choke on his roll with how casually she said that. She gave a laugh and then asked, "What? Girls can't discuss sex as freely as a guy does? That's a load of shit, Jon."

"Just never talked to a girl who didn't attach a certain amount of emotional bonding to it." Dean stated calmly as Ashley nodded and said "Well, that's me. I'm not really emotional. I'm actually kinda mercurial." as the waitress came, took their order, making small talk with Dean, having recognized him, of course, from being on television. Ashley laughed as the waitress left with their orders and headed to the back. She eyed him for a moment and shaking her head she said quietly, "Wow.. you honestly weren't lyin when you said you liked the attention."

Dean shrugged and said "I might be a lot of things, Ashley. A liar's not one of them. I speak my mind. Just don't see any point in beating around the bush." as he looked at her a moment.. Maybe guys lying to her caused her to be bitter? The bartender he'd found out her name from did seem to hint that she'd had a long, bad and hard life.. Maybe they were a lot alike, maybe that's why he just had to keep on pushing this..

Because she did have a good point. If it were just about sex he'd probably be back at the hotel by now, banging that cute little red head who'd asked him for his autograph earlier in the day. Something kept him sitting here, and he was curious as to what that might be.

But was he curious enough to actually try and find out?

Their food came and he watched her eating, laughing as he realized she was actually a really messy eater. Most girls just picked at their food and didn't dare try and talk or look anything less than demure as they ate. Ashley, on the other hand, seemed to not care how she looked, and she not only talked through mouth fulls, she laughed a little too and groaned with each bite she took of the food.

"I'll have what she's having." he joked as he gave her a raised brow. She laughed and sitting up, fell into silence, munching on cheese soaked french fries as she stared out the window and into the parking lot. "If it rains by the weekend, I'm gonna be pissed." she muttered offhandedly. Dean looked out and then laughing said "It looks like rain."

"You ass."

"Ya like it. Or ya would have gotten up, walked outta here." he said calmly, as she looked at him and scowled for a moment then shrugged and said simply, "I tolerate it.. Because you even pursuing me has me curious.. Especially when I've made it plain that I really don't wanna be pursued. Ever."

"See, that's just what you think, Ashley." Dean explained with a cocky grin as she glared at him, tossed a piece of french fry in his direction and admitted, "Okay, so it's a little endearing.. Beyond that? Nah. I think I know what I want and don't want, Jon." while nursing a soda.

Dean laughed and muttered to himself, "That's what you think, Sparky." ignoring the fact that now apparently he'd given her a nickname in his own mind and this whole chase was sort of becoming a fast and borderline obsession for him. If he could just get her into bed, it'd save them both a lot of hassle.

But she was just so damn resistant.

The ringing of her cell phone had her raising a brow, holding up a hand. "It's the shop." she explained as she growled and said stiffly, "I specifically told that fucking idiot I wanted the 350. Why the hell did they send a 243?" while popping her knuckles and ignoring the way he was watching her with intent curiousity. She hung up and he asked, "Wrong motor?" surprising her. She nodded and said "It's not easy being a girl and co owning a garage. Apparently a lot of men seem to think that I'm not gonna notice the difference when I order one motor and they send an entirely different one." chuckling a little bit. He gave a shrug and then said "So.. Ya not coming in the bar tonight?"

Looking at him a moment she bit her lower lip and then said "If ya really wanna see me again, Jon.. Be at this address", while scribbling an address down on a napkin hurriedly, "at exactly 8."

"Why 8 exactly?" Dean asked as she shrugged and then said "Dunno, hell.. That's just what time the poker games usually start. If you wanna, you can bring a friend or something, it's just me and a few of the guys from the garage. We usually play for a few hours then just hang around and bullshit, watch football or baseball or hockey games.."

"You sure ya not a guy?" Dean joked as she lazily punched in his direction then said quietly, "My uncle raised me with his 3 sons, so I suppose their habits rubbed off on me?" while holding his gaze for a few moments, her tongue trailing over her plump lower lip slowly.

They got back into the car and after she parked at the garage, they went their seperate ways, Dean going back to the hotel with Roman and Seth.

No sooner than he'd gotten in the door, Roman and Seth asked with taunting smirks, "How'd it go?"

"It went, damn." Dean said grumpily as he flopped across the bed and looked at the napkin in his hand. "You guys up for a poker game tonight?"

"Why?"

"Because, asshole, it's apparently the only way I'm gonna eventually screw her out of my system." Dean hissed at Seth who snickered and muttered something to Roman who said aloud, "Now's not a good time to tell him that apparently a dirt sheet reporter saw them together and it's all over the internet, Seth."

Dean sat up and grumbled, swore a little, punched a wall. "Those sons of... Seriously? Nothing fucking happened.. I could see it being noteworthy if I was banging her on the hood of her car, yeah.. But we were just talking."

Seth held out his cell phone and then Dean groaned inwardly as he saw the picture apparently snapped at a distance when they'd been having their bizarre little standoff outside her garage.

"Fuck."

"Mhmm.. And she really doesn't look like the kind of girl who wants or likes paparazzi, man." Roman mused as Seth added, "And if this guy got that photo, man.. You can almost bet your ass that he'll do whatever it takes to keep getting photos like that. So if you don't want anything but sex, man.. Is all this really worth it?"

Dean mulled that over as he stood and said "Going to the gym." and left the room.


	5. the chase continues, pt I

8 o'clock came quickly and Ashley smirked to herself, pretty certain that she'd pretty much discouraged any and all further attempts at Jon's getting into her pants. She hummed as she cleaned the engine grime and gunk from her hands, then paused for a moment to look at herself in the shop's small bathroom mirror.

"Why in the name of Christ did he even decide he had to get in my pants in the first place I wonder.. I mean the girls on his own damn roster a one hell of a lot better lookin than me. And if it's kinky sex he's lookin for, hell.. It's been too damn long since I actually got laid, I wouldn't know the meaning of the word kinky." she muttered aloud as she raked her hand through her long tangled brown hair, scowling at her appearance while her mother's voice nagged at her, _'Women don't own garages or fight professionally.. And if you're hopin your looks are gonna get you by in life, girl, I'd strongly recommend you stick to those books you love so damn much. Because you're not even remotely pretty. You look too much like your rotten no good bum father.'_

'You're gone, Mom and I'm still hearing your crap in my mind. Thanks for being such an amazing parent.' she muttered to herself dryly before coming out of her thoughts, walking out into the shop and looking around. Everything was back in it's place, any and all spills had been gotten off the floor of the shop, and the money was safely stored in the safe. All she had to do was punch the security code in and she was done with work for another day.

She'd just done that and stepped out into the slightly chilly night, when a man approached her and identified himself and then proceeded to ask her a ton of questions, the last one being, "Is it true you're dating Dean Ambrose, a professional wrestler?" , eyeing her intently, a smirk on his face, almost as if he knew something she didn't.

She began laughing hysterically then stopped and said "Do I look like the kind of girl some professional wrestler's going to settle for when he could have a thousand other women, sir?" studying him intently, watching him squirm a little. He obviously knew his question angered and amused her, she could tell she made him nervous. Her hand tightened into a fist in her pocket and his words from earlier at the restaurant replayed in her ears as she said "Did that jackass tell you we were an item or something?Because if so, he's full of shit, mister." before calmly shoving past the reporter and unlocking her car.

The reporter, however approached again and said casually, "No, he didn't, but you two looked so cozy out here earlier.. And here I was thinking I came to get an exclusive on pretty much any of the other members of the roster.. I got this instead." as he flashed a picture. Ashley grabbed at it and then smirking said "Oh yeah? Well looks like you don't anymore." while holding it out and away, , taking out her lighter and lighting it on fire throwing it down on the sidewalk to stomp the photo out..

"I made copies, ma'am. And the story's already out.. Tell me, how does one catch the attention of wrestling's known bad boy?"

"Fuck if I know, mister, I'm still trying to figure out what the actual hell he wants from me." Ashley admitted while biting her lower lip, stomping out the burning photo. If the story was already out, it wasn't like it mattered, because only a handful of people at best actually read the 'dirt sheets' really.

Or at least that's what she was trying to tell herself.

"So you're not denying or confirming that there is something there. Interesting." the reporter mused aloud as Ashley rolled her eyes and waved him off then said casually, "Write whatever the fuck tickles your pickle. It's not like it'll matter. And besides that, you're a reporter, you're just gonna twist it all around to the way you want it told. Doesn't matter what the truth is in the end. If you'll excuse me, I have a card game I'm about to be late for." as she got into her car, spun out of the parking lot angrily.

Once in the confines of her car, she started to laugh hysterically and pound the steering wheel. Only an idiot would think something was going on between her and Jon, there obviously wasn't anything. All he wanted was sex and she was half tempted to just give in already and get him and this whole bizarre sequence of events their meeting at the bar that night seemingly set into motion.

She'd just parked in the driveway of her friend James' house when she heard him calling out her name and he stepped out of the darkness, two other men she actually did recognize from the wrestling program she'd seen that night at the bar on either side of him. She fumed a moment and then said "You.."

Dean chuckled and ducked the lazy fist she sent to his arm as he grabbed her hand and said "I what?"

"Those idiot reporters got a picture of you touchin me, damn it." she grumbled, scowling at him as she said firmly, "And again, at the risk of sounding redundant, Jon, I'm gonna say it.. I'm not worth the waste in time."

Roman and Seth watched the pair intently, elbowing each other as Seth spoke up and said "Since apparently our buddy Dean has no manners, I'm Seth and this is .." before Roman spoke up quietly and said with an amused smirk, "I'm Roman." before Seth added, "But since we're not in front of a camera or something, just call me Colby and that tall bastard Joe."

Ashley nodded and studied them a moment before grabbing hold of Dean's wrist and practically dragging him around the side of her friend's garage, hissing, "What the fucking hell? I come out of work and some shrimpy little jackass is standing there, recorder going, asking me a ton of rather nosy questions? He thinks we're together. You damn well better fix it."

Dean snickered, studying her, his hand raking through his hair before answering calmly, "Aww, come on.. What's so bad about one stupid article? I mean it's not like we both don't already know the truth. You want me.. It's not my fault that our buddy the reporter picked up on it too.." he started only to have her explode and shriek, "Are you seriously shitting me right now? Do I look like the kinda girl, buddy, who gets a fucking kick out of this crap?"

On the other side of the garage, Roman and Seth almost fell on the ground laughing as Seth said casually, "Ya know.. If it is more than sex that our boy wants, Ro.. He's gonna have a hand full with that one."

"She is feisty." Roman chuckled as he added, "Think we should go around, make sure nobody hurts each other?" as the argument continued on the other side of the garage.

Of course, it was mostly one sided, because Dean was just standing there, staring at her as if she'd grown 3 heads in the space of 3 minutes before finally making a swift move to pin her against a wall, his hips pressing into her hips, before forcefully pulling her into a kiss while muttering, "And finally.. Ya shut the hell up." as she at first fought against the kiss and then sort of groaned and gave into it, only a little. He made it rougher, more forceful and a lot deeper, with his hands wandering over her small curvy body, and she bit his lip in response. He grabbed her arms and breaking away looked at her as he hissed, "What the fucking hell was that?"

"If you ever do that again, buddy.. You will not like the outcome. Did I ask you to kiss me? Huh? Did I?" Ashley asked as she stammered while speaking, her throat closed up and her stomach fluttered and her knees went weak all in one swift breath.. Whether he'd asked her or not didn't matter.. He'd done it and she hated admitting it, but she'd actually sort of liked it.

But only sort of, of course. And naturally, she'd die in a lake of fire before admitting that to him, of course.

Her friend opened the door to his house and watching the four of them in amusement, he called out, "y'all coming in? Andrea's just left for her girls night shit.. Let's get this you losing all your money to me thing started, Ashley."

Ashley flipped off her friend then called out, "More like you losing all your money, Harper, and sleeping on that damn hide a bed in the den all week."

Dean stared at her a few moments torn between anger and curiousity. Nobody did that to him, the biting him thing she'd done, ever. And he found himself wondering just why in the hell she thought she could and get away with it. He grabbed her wrist tightly and yanked her out of sight as he said in a quiet and firm voice, "If you ever pull that biting shit again, Ashley, you won't like the outcome."

"Really? Because about the next fucking time you kiss me and I don't specifically TELL you you can, Jon, you're gonna have a whole other hole in your face to breathe out of. We clear or?" she asked, stiffening her posture, yanking her wrist free, surprising him a little. For a smaller girl, she wasn't a weak one, apparently.

Was he finally meeting a girl who could stand up to all of his shit, all of his little tests? He filed that away, shoved the thought deep down in the recesses of his mind. All he wanted was a quick screw. He was not about to fall for some girl, and least of all, not a feisty pain in the ass like Ashley Webber.

"I'll kiss you whenever the hell I want. You liked it." he muttered lazily in her ear as they walked into the house, into the basement game room. Ashley's friend tossed them all a beer and then asked, "Y'all good for Texas Hold Em or do you wanna play another form of poker?"

"We're good. Usual buy in?" Ashley asked as she tossed a 20 down on the table then explained to Dean and his two friends, "Pot's done in 20's.. This game's 20 dollar buy in.. Next game will be 40." with an amused smirk. Dean flopped into the chair next to her and she shifted away, the whole scene from moments ago, how it reminded her of her mother and father burned into her mind.

Yet she still couldn't deny the attraction she felt to the guy, which of course, angered her a great deal.

The next time any of them looked up at a clock, it was approaching midnight, and almost everyone in the room, Ashley included, was starting to show signs of being buzzed. She raked the money into her lap as she crowed in delight, "Come to mama." while also thanking her friend for 'buying her a set of cams'.

Dean of course, noticed that she was sort of buzzed. He wasn't, honestly, he hadn't drank enough to even feel a little bit of a buzz. He mostly watched her. They were all getting ready to leave, and he took her keys then said simply, "No fuckin arguments. I'm gonna drive ya."

"I'm good, damn it." Ashley insisted as he gave her that same firm and menacing look from earlier while depositing her in the passenger seat of her Trans Am.

"You don't scare me." she informed him as he shrugged and said "I should." while focusing on the road, following the directions Ashley gave to her house. They pulled into the driveway and he sat there a moment, thinking. "Gonna give in?" he asked with a smirk as she gave him the middle finger and said "Nope." smirking right back. He leaned in and muttered casually, "Not even after that kiss earlier, huh? Guess I'm gonna have to show you that I mean what I say.. When I want something, sooner or later, it's mine."

She snickered and rolled her eyes and he laughed at her then said seriously, "I'm not joking, Ashley." to which she replied, "And? Doesn't mean I have to just give in. Haven't you ever heard the saying You can't always get what you want?"

He gave her a raised brow then said "I've heard it, Ashley, but it doesn't apply to me."

"Sure.. You're gonna realize just how wrong you are about that, Jon, when you're getting ready to leave town and I still haven't caved. Why keep beating your head against a wall.. Just give up."

"Because, Ashley, you keep encouraging me.. If you didn't look like you enjoyed the pursuit so much, I'd gladly just leave ya alone. Trust me, ya a pain in my ass." Dean admitted as he walked around to her side of the car, carried her into her house, unlocking the door.

He stood her on her own two feet and when she went to change, he looked around the small and cozy house, looking at pictures of her through various stages of her life. She honestly didn't look happy in any of them, except the later ones, where she was posed with a group of males, they had to be her uncle and 3 male cousins. One was hidden out of sight, and he picked it up, smirked to himself.. She was standing in the middle of a wrestling ring, smirk on her face, a referee raising her arm.

"Having fun being a nosy ass?" she asked from behind him as she slunk out into the room and took the picture away. He looked at her and then asked in curiousity, "So ya trained?"

"Mhmm.. And my mama got sick.. Being as I'm the only child, I had to take care of her. Then I took over my cousin Troy's spot at my uncle's garage when Troy decided that he'd rather go off and try to become a cook or somethin. It was kinda my childhood dream. But I'm not a kid anymore, so.." she said as she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, her teeth grazing her lower lip as she stared him down as intently as he was staring her down.

"You should go."

He nodded and then smirking, leaned in, trailed his finger across her lower lip as he muttered, "Oh and Ashley? You'd save yourself a whole lot of aggrivation if you'd just give in." before disappearing out the door, into his friend's waiting ride. She watched him through the window and muttered, "If I gave in, Jon.. that might not be a good thing." before sighing in frustration, punching a wall and wincing when it hurt her fist, and walking down the hallway, pouring herself into bed.

Maybe after tonight, he'd get the picture..


	6. giving in - m rated

She grumbled as she rolled over in her enormous bed, stretching. "Fucking seriously? I don't have to be awake for another hour, damn it.. That fucking guy getting in my head.." she muttered as she punched at her pillow, straightened out her t shirt and scowled. Somehow, the night before, hell every night since she'd met Jon, really, the whole kiss that kept repeating and spinning off into wild directions that the kiss could have gone the night before. She slid out of bed, stumbling down the hallway and into her kitchen searching out Tylenols and coffee.

Sitting down at her kitchen table a few minutes later, with a steaming cup of black coffee in her hands as she mulled over her situation as it stood.. Somehow, this Jon guy, in the space of 2 days had managed to pinpoint all her 'weaknesses' and get himself in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss he dared to give her the night before, which pissed her off.. As did the fact that his words kept creeping in and repeating at random, he seemed to be almost taunting her, mentally.

"And this, Ash, is the best reason you do not need to even consider caving in and screwing the guy. You do feel something for him, and you know that sooner or later, you'll screw it all up somehow. Not only that, he's on the road all the time, and he is a man.. Men do lie cheat and hurt the women they claim to love.." she argued aloud with herself as she took a sip of the coffee.

She should be showering, getting ready for work, instead, she found herself actually considering just giving in so the guy would give her some damn peace.. So maybe she could prove to herself that there was absolutely no spark there.

Even though the kiss from the night before had apparently proven otherwise.

Across town, Dean sat in the dining area of the hotel room, mulling over the very long and restless night he'd had the night before, slamming his fist down on the table as he said calmly, "This is not gonna happen. One way or another, I'm gonna fuck her out of my system. Nobody gets in my head like that. Nobody." while sipping a glass of orange juice. He had a workout he should be getting to, but he hadn't bothered yet, because his mind kept going back to the way her lips molded to his the night before, all her defenses melting away while he kissed her. He'd gotten somewhere the night before, or he suspected that she'd have dropped him on his ass when he kissed her like that.

For once, he didn't hold every single card, and the ice cold man didn't like this. He was vulnerable, this pissed him off. How the hell had the girl done it, even? She was the polar opposite of the girls he typically went for. She was mouthy, independent and most importantly, she wasn't afraid of him.

Sure, she'd shown a little fear, but she'd shown more anger than anything. He wasn't constantly afraid of 'hurting' her or something, or he hadn't been since they'd met two nights ago. He growled to himself as he muttered quietly, _'She's a fucking female, Good.. They all lie. They all say one thing or do one thing when they really mean the other. And you're a monster. Sooner or later? You would hurt her.'_

He'd gotten into his rental car and before he knew it, he sat in her driveway. He honked and got out, walking up onto the porch only to have the front door open and she peeked out, scowling a little when she saw it was him. "What the hell, Jon?"

"You are in my fuckin head, Ashley and that's just not gonna happen.. You don't get to do that."

She raised a brow as she watched him pacing her front porch, her hand in her long and thick dark hair as she said "You don't fucking get to do it either, Jon. If anyone's got a right to be pissed, if anyone's gotten in anyone's head, you've gotten into mine, and frankly? I don't fuckin like it. Before I met you a few nights ago, all I had to worry about was getting up, going to work, coming home or going to the bar.. My hardest decision, Jon, was what fucking wrench to use while I was workin on a car at the shop, or whether I wanted Guiness Dark or a bottle of tequila at the bar. So do you honestly think I LIKE this too? Because I don't."

He stared at her a few moments and then scratched his head as he said quietly, "About done yet?"

"Not even close, asshole. I thought I made it real clear last night, I was not sleeping with you.. So why then, are you fucking here?" Ashley asked as Dean shrugged and said "Came to tell ya to stop doing whatever the fuck it is you're doing, getting in my head like ya are. Because I'm not some guy who falls in love with a girl, I'm not a guy you want in ya life.. I don't and I won't ever love anyone but myself."

She laughed and then said calmly, "Likewise, bud." as she leaned in the open doorway, arms crossed, Otis Redding blasting from a stereo inside the small house. "That all?" she asked him in amusement as he leaned in, his hand gripping her hip roughly as he muttered "One way or another, I'm gonna make you cave before I leave. To get you out of my fucking head."

"So hire a fucking hooker. Fuck a stranger, Jon. I'm off limits. Besides, even if I weren't, I'm too fucked up for you. Just trust me when I say that. You don't know me, and the less I know about you, the better off I'll be. If you want sex, go get it. I'm not the girl you want." Ashley said as he leaned in and roughly parted her lips with his tongue before muttering, "Oh, I want ya.. I just don't want ya in my fuckin head. I don't wanna think about ya constantly like I have been. I don't wanna want you, damn it." and pulling her into a rough and passionate kiss.

She shoved him back firmly and growled as she stepped back and said "Would you stop doing that? The more you kiss me, the more you get in my head. I don't like it."

"The hell ya don't.. ya moaned and almost melted in my damn arms right now." Dean grumbled as he studied her a moment, brow raised as she paced now, swearing, kicking things that stood in her path as she paced. He stopped her and then tilted her chin up, trying not to laugh. "So, what scares ya more.. That ya might just like it a little and ya can't control it, or that somehow, ya know I'm right about everything I've told ya since we met, and ya know it's gonna happen, sooner or later?"

She laughed, grumbling some more as she shook her head and said "It's not happening." firmly. It was a shame really, that her eyes gave away what she really felt about the situation. Because that gave Dean what he needed to make his decision. He picked her up and sat her on a counter in her kitchen, his hands rushing over her body as her legs tightened around his hips and his hands stilled her hands, pinning them beneath his hands. "Stop fightin it."

"Fuck no." she growled as she licked her lips, trying to pull her head out of distance, out of the reach of his lips. "Ya wanna cave in right now." he stated as she muttered, "What I want and what I don't need to do are two totally different things entirely. This cannot happen."

"It can, Ashley, and I told ya.. It will."

She grumbled as she got a hand free and grabbed hold of his t shirt, intending on headbutting him by pulling him closer. His hand closed around her hand and he shook his head, warning gleam in his eye as he said "You don't wanna piss me off. You say I don't scare ya.. Trust me.. You haven't seen me pissed either."

"Ooh, I'm scared, really I am." Ashley muttered dryly as she rolled her eyes and muttered "Cocky bastard. The only reason you want me, Jon, is because I'm a challenge.. If I gave in, would you please leave me the fuck alone? For both our sakes?"

"Saying you might give in?" Dean asked as his hand gripped her thigh while his other hand went to her long brown hair, tangling in it giving a subtle yank as he pulled her into another rough kiss.

"If I thought it'd make you stop coming around, make me stop fucking thinking about you and dreaming about you at night like I have been for whatever reason since we met, maybe." Ashley muttered quietly, her tone of voice tired, she was exhausted from the fight she'd been putting up, the energy exerted from keeping him out. But as soon as the words left her lips, she immediately regretted saying them and gave him a firm shove away. "You have to go. Now."

He gave her a raised brow then said "I'll go when I'm ready."

"You'll fucking go now, Jon. This is not happening." she said firmly as she tried her best to give him a firm look, show that she meant it. "All I am to you is a challenge. I'm pretty damn sure there are a thousand better women out there. Go fuck one of them, damn it.. That should make you forget all about me."

He grumbled and then muttered to himself, "And I thought I was fuckin crazy." as he looked at her a moment. He leaned in the doorway of the kitchen, away from her, his arms crossed as he tried to catch his own breath. Nothing he'd done had worked, but now he was in the grips of an obsession.

And he knew now that she felt something for him, and it pissed her off. Like it pissed him off.

"GO!" she shouted as she pointed at the door. He shrugged and said "I'm going.. But trust me, Ashley.. when I want something? I'm gonna get it. One way or another. So just because I'm leaving now, it doesn't mean I'm done. I'm not done with you, sunshine, by a long shot. We're just getting started."

She groaned and shaking her head, she bit her lower lip, trying to get her nerves and her horomones back under wraps. This guy for some reason or another bought out all the very things she fought tooth and nail to supress. When she heard his car cranking up, she punched the cabinet in her kitchen, scowling as she said quietly, "I should be runnin like hell.. What the fuck is wrong with me?" while shaking her head, starting to laugh a little.

They were too much alike, clearly.

And she'd yet to figure out why the hell he just 'had to have her', when there were prettier and better women out there who'd probably die just for one night with the guy.

And he wanted the most broken, least pretty girl who had the least to offer apparently. She sank down into a chair at her dining room chair as an unexpected surge of emotion she wasn't prepared to deal with surfaced. She realized that he'd essentially admitted just now, that he hated thinking about her too. That he didn't want to want her.

Trailing her finger around the rim of her glass, she mulled that over for a few moments. Then she stood and grabbed her keys and ran out to her car, spun out of her driveway. She spotted his rental car parked in a hotel parking lot not too far from the garage she co owned and she parked, sat there wondering what the hell exactly she was going to do once she walked inside the hotel, and why in the hell she'd bothered coming here.

"Fuck it. Something's gotta give.. And maybe, just maybe, if this happens, I can finally get some fucking sleep again at night." she muttered to herself before getting out of the car and walking towards the hotel. She'd just gotten into the lobby when she saw that pesky reporter again and quickly, she dove into a nearby womens rest room, into a stall, waiting it out.

"Okay, so I'm here, now what the fuck do I do?" she muttered as she paced, planning her next move. This wasn't like her, this was way out of character for her, giving in, having a one night stand, so she wasn't good at going about it.. She grumbled as she looked in the mirror, scowled at her reflection. "This doesn't make you a slut. It's a one time thing, and you do not have to ever tell anyone it happened. Besides, when he's gone, it's not like you'll ever see the damn guy again.. And you haven't gotten but maybe an hour of sleep since you met the damn guy." she muttered to herself as she wiped her hands on her jeans and then peeked back out into the lobby.

She palmed her face when she immediately recognized him, standing against a wall, talking to his two friends Joe and Colby. "Fuck! Aghhh!" she grumbled as she hurriedly slammed the bathroom door shut, leaned against it heavily.

Roman and Seth noticed Ashley before Dean did, and Roman elbowed Dean, nodded towards the bathroom as he said calmly, "For whatever reason, Jon, she might have changed her mind. If this is just about sex, man.. Look, just don't be an asshole like you're known for being, okay?"

"She's here?"

"She's hiding in the bathroom." Seth said with a chuckle as he nodded his head to the shut bathroom door and added, "Don't be an asshole."

"Fuck you." Dean muttered under his breath as he said quietly, "I knew it."

He walked over and leaned against the wall opposite the door and waited, his arms crossed. She stepped out into the lobby a few moments later, and Dean caught her by surprise as he muttered, "So.. You did follow me here."

"Only because I want you out of my fucking system as much as you want me out of yours.. Beyond that? This is a one time thing, bud. Got it? I ain't gonna become your '601' girl or something, I don't even want to think about it after. I didn't want to feel anything for you, Jon, and maybe when we're done, we can both just move on.. Since it's obvious that neither of us actually wants to feel something for the other."

Dean nodded and then said calmly, "So.. That mean you're going to give in?" with a smirk as she glared and rolling her eyes said quietly, "Just tonight."

"I can handle that." he said as he slid his arm around her shoulder and said "Want a drink or something?"

"Not really, no."

Her heart raced as they stepped onto the elevator and she found herself disgusted.. was she really about to do this, just so she could get him out of her mind and her life? Just so he'd leave her alone?

And she wondered why she had the passing thought this could either be the best thing she'd ever done, or the worst mistake of her life.

His lips crashed against hers as soon as they were in the elevator and the doors were closed. She still resisted his kisses, went stiff in his arms if he touched her, but she was giving in. Finally, he'd be able to prove to himself that this was only sex. That he only wanted to see if underneath all that piss and vinegar, a wildcat lie dormant or something. That she was just a new notch on his belt, a new experience or something.

In the back of his mind, he had this passing thought that he wasn't being totally honest with himself about that fact, and that sleeping with her wasn't going to do anything but prove him wrong on a thousand different levels, but true to form he was ignoring that. For every rough nip he made at her neck, she made an equally rough nip at his neck, sucking even, leaving a small mark, making him growl deep in his throat.

The sound of fabric ripping stunned him back into the moment and out of his thoughts, and he looked down, realized she'd ripped his tanktop off. So he pressed her against the wall of the elevator and grumbled quietly, "Fucking ripping my shirt?" before ripping her own t shirt off and picking her up in his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist tightly. "This is gonna be fun." he muttered as she muttered back "Considering I caved in and I never cave in, Jon, it damn well better be worth it." while nipping roughly at his lip, her tongue slipping into his mouth, her hand tangling in his hair as he tore away the hooking area of her bra with almost no effort at all. She gave a slight laugh, then a moan as her back arched and her bare chest dragged against his, her fingers dug lightly into his shoulders. His lips wandered down her chest, his tongue flicking out, teasing her nipples as she shivered, gave a whimpering moan. "Jon..Mmmm.."

"You like that, huh?"

"Mmmm.. Yeah.. Again.." she groaned as she worked on tugging at his baggy basketball shorts, they fell away, to the floor, leaving him in a pair of black silk boxers in front of her. This was all happening so fast that neither of them really stopped or gave themselves a chance to stop and process what was happening, what they were doing or how right it seemed to feel, how natural it felt.

He tugged at her hair as he tilted her head back and his teeth sank into her neck, sucking, leaving another mark on the side of her neck as his hand slid down, unfastened the buckle of the belt that held her baggy jeans up. The jeans fell to the floor and he gaped a moment at the bright red lacy panties she wore. He never would have pegged her for the satin and lace underwear type of girl in all honesty.

"I like." he grumbled as his hand slid out, pressed the emergency brake on the elevator and he slid her panties down, flung them across the small elevator, smirking as he asked, "You ready for this?" a cocky smirk on his face. He growled as her hands slid slowly up and down his cock and she smirked, leaned in and muttered "You gonna give it to me or stand there and smirk about it?" making him scowl a moment, tug her hair almost painfully as he said "Oh, I'm gonna give it to you alright." standing her on her own two feet, standing behind her, almost pinning her against the wall, his hands over her hands so she couldn't move them.

He slipped inside of her and growled. "Tight. I like that." he muttered as she moved her hips slowly against his, trying to make him move. His hands slid to her hips, stilling them as he shook his head, met her gaze in the reflection of the elevators metal wall and mouthed, "Damn.. Be patient."

She scowled at him and then bit back a moan as he sped up a little. Her breathing hitched and her back stiffened as she felt her knees going weak. "Feels good.. Mmmm, Jon.."

"Keep callin my name." he instructed as he added, "Come on.. Don't you get louder than that?"

"We're in a fuckin elevator." she argued, gasping for breath as she did so. He slammed into her harder before picking her up and holding her against the wall of the elevator, her legs going around his waist, his hands gripping her hip and her ass to hold her against him. "And ya point?" he asked as he sucked on her breast, looked up at her and forced her into another rough and passionate kiss, as he muttered, "Ya too damn uptight."

"Get me to your room, Jon and.." she gasped, gripping his shoulders, digging her nails in as an intense orgasm racked her body, making her bit her lip to keep from screaming like she wanted before continuing, "I'll show you just how much I can let loose."

"Oh really.. This I gotta see.. Lucky I got until 9, huh?" he asked as she nodded, thrusting her hips against him, slamming him into her as hard as he could go. He growled and sped up when he felt his own orgasm building in intensity and then muttered, "You want this, don't ya?"

She groaned, moaning the word Yes as he slammed into her one last time and held her against him a few moments. "See? Told ya.. You were gonna give in."

"Only because you're a persistant bastard and I wanted to get you outta my head." Ashley argued as she hurriedly dressed, holding his clothing to him while wiggling back into her own.

He smirked and said "Did it work?" as he looked at her. She scowled and muttered, "Not yet.. But it will." as he let his hand off of the elevator brake, starting the elevator again.

In the back of his mind, he had this nagging feeling that just tonight wasn't going to be enough for either of them.. Because he'd just gotten her, and now he only wanted more. He grumbled to himself and then slid the key card in the slot on his room's door, letting her in.

She'd just flopped onto the bed and he rolled her on top of him, looking at her.. "So.. this mean you're gonna skip work today?"

She gave him a dirty look but said calmly, "It means I'm here for now. It means that this better get you outta my head, Jon. So, yeah, I guess I'm gonna skip work. Perks of being a co owner at my workplace." while yawning lazily, stretching.

"Good. Because I wasn't gonna just let ya leave. I'm not done with you yet." he muttered as she stood and said "I'm getting a shower." and hurried out of the room. He got the feeling she wasn't much for cuddling or even staying around after a one night stand.. Another thing they apparently had in common. As soon as the door to the bathroom door shut, he rolled onto his back and grumbled, "This better fuckin work. Because I'm not lettin her get to me. Nobody gets to me, damn it, nobody."

* * *

Just an fyi, I know this whole thing is moving fast, but there's a reason for that. There are tons of bumps ahead for these two, just consider this chapter and the next one the beginning of their long and rocky road, so to speak. Anything that can happen will happen.

Sorry if it's OOC. I really am trying.


	7. goodbye doesn't always mean goodbye pt I

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

* * *

She collapsed onto the bed in the hotel room, breathing raggedly while he yelped as he showered and the steaming hot water made contact with the passion scratches across his shoulders and upper back. "Damn it, woman, did ya just try and slice me up this time?" he called out, Ashley ignoring him, focusing instead on a game playing on television trying not to think about the 3 times since her caving in this morning she'd almost let her guard down around him.

It felt too damn easy being around him. They fought, oh boy did they fight, over any and everything, but they seemed to, for the most part at least, balance each other out just a little. And she didn't want or need that in her life. Not when she'd seen just what loving someone made you capable of, growing up in the house she'd grown up in.. She didn't want to need someone or love someone. She didn't want someone to need or love her, because she was a bit of a fuck up if there ever was one, really. She was a lost cause, she knew this.

Dean poked his head out into the room, watched her as she watched the preseason football game, sprawled across his hotel bed wearing nothing but one of his tanktops and that red lacy underwear. He muttered to himself, _"Not bad, Good.. Not bad at all." _before flopping down onto the bed beside her . When she stood, he raised a brow, watched her wiggling back into the second skin fit ripped jeans she wore. "Whoa... Where the fuck do you think ya going?" he asked, standing, stopping her by grabbing her hands and making her look at him.

"One night stands ain't the time for cuddling, Jon.. You agreed, remember?" Ashley explained impatiently and then pointed out, "Besides, it's 8 pm.. And I'm shitty at the whole goodbye thing.. Not that I like ya enough to stick around and do the goodbye thing, but..." while fidgeting nervously, not meeting his gaze. She was disgusted with herself, she felt dirtier than she had in a really, really long time.

"Damn it, woman, stay." Dean said as he pushed her back down onto the bed and leaned over her, muttered "It's not like I wanted to cuddle ya."

She gave a slight laugh and then looking up at him she pointed out, "Didn't say you did. Just makin sure you know that after tonight, this is behind us." in a firm voice. He looked at her a moment, biting his lip as he leaned in closer and muttered, "We're done when I fucking say we're done."

She sat up and laughing said "You really think you're something, don't you? I'm not like these other stupid little girls, Jon.. You might get by with this crap with them, you're damn sure not gonna pull it with me. Look, you have your life, I have mine. Tonight is just... It's just sex. There is nothing else." as she bit her lower lip, her stomach churning a little with unease. Even now she knew she was lying, but even now she knew that the two of them, together, was almost like adding gasoline to a roaring fire.

"Yeah. It is just sex.. But see, I decided, Ashley.. I'm not done with ya. I had too much fun tonight." Dean said with a smug smirk as he trailed his finger over her collarbone and said calmly, quietly, "And ya know deep down you don't want this to end with just tonight... Don't ya?"

She didn't even bother looking up at him, instead, she backed out of his reach and then said simply, "Like I said.. You've got your world, I've got mine.. Trust me, I don't think I'm even close to your type. And you're definitely not mine. Actually, no man's my type. Just not looking for some man to take care of me, make me wanna fall in love. That's exactly why this has to end tonight."

"How the hell do you know what my damn type is?" Dean asked, his voice raising in anger before wondering why in the hell he was even bothering to argue her on this. She was right, he knew she was right. They'd only been around one another consistantly for a few days now and they spent more time fighting than anything else. And just because she wasn't afraid of the monster he knew perfectly well he was capable of becoming..

It didn't mean they were soulmates or something.

So he really didn't understand why in the hell he stood here arguing with her, why them being over after tonight was not an option for him, and why he didn't just let her walk out of the door to his hotel room. He grumbled, punching a wall as she looked at him with a raised brow, standing there quietly, calmly watching him completely lose his cool.

"About done?"

"Not even close, god damn it." Dean said as he turned to look at her and then said "You don't seem to get it, Ashley. You have no control over how this goes. I do. And I'm not done with you. So no, Ashley, no, we're not over. I'm not done with you, you don't just get to walk away from this and forget it happened. And explain to me, Ash.. If you had as much fun as I know ya had, I got the scratches and bites all over me to prove that fact, why in the hell do you wanna forget?"

She shrugged, muttered something under her breath as she ignored him and his tantrum and continued to get dressed, intent on getting the hell out of the hotel room before the walls closed in on her or something, because the more she stayed, the more she didn't want to leave, the more she realized he was 100 percent right and she didn't want to forget tonight. But she knew she had to, because for one thing, he was leaving town, and he wasn't going to come back to some little backwater Mississippi town just for her, this was **not** like the movies and he was not going to be the Zack Mayo to her Paula and whisk her away to some magical happily after or something, and for another thing, she just got this feeling that one of them had to walk away for things to fall into place one way or another.

It might as well be her, she was actually used to being the one who cut out and left first anyway. She tended to do it when things got too emotional and she couldn't deal.

She sensed that he did too, so her being exactly like him was a shock to his system and maybe that was the only reason he even stayed fascinated in her. Maybe once he left town with the show, he'd finally realize that and he'd forget all about her. In the back of her mind, even as she thought this, her stomach twisted into knots, because on some deep down level, she didn't want him to forget, really..

And besides either of the above reasons she'd realized that if she didn't get out now, let him leave town peacefully, go back to his own life while she went back to hers.. She was already addicted to him. That addiction would become an obsession. And the thought that one guy could to that to her, in the space of a few days frankly scared her to death.

"Because, Jon, damn it, the only reason you're so hell bent on this is because you think you want me. You only think that because I'm not like the girls you're usually with or something, I dunno. But believe me when I say this, Jon.. You'll leave town tonight and you'll forget all about me."

He looked at her a moment. Somehow he didn't think that'd be possible, his forgetting about her. But would she forget him? The thought had him angry, jealous, concerned more than he cared to even begin to admit. He hated this entire situation, but he knew that it wasn't going away anytime soon. He stepped back and studied her a moment then said "Fucking fine. Just get the fuck out of here.." before stepping out of her way, letting her grab her shoes and put them on. She looked up at him and said with a slight smirk, "Had a good time tonight."

He glared at her, not amused, let her out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her, sitting down in a chair in front of the small 2 person table in the room, his hands in his hair. He happened to look up and realized she'd left her jacket and the red lacy bra. He swore, punching a wall hard enough to bruise knuckles and leave a hole in the sheetrock.

Then he composed himself, the walls going back up like always, and he started to pack. He'd just finished packing when he stared at the jacket and the bra a few moments before grumbling obscenities under his breath and shoving them into his carry on bag. "I'll fuckin mail 'em to her or something." he muttered as he realized she'd left the room wearing his old gray tanktop too.

He met up with Seth and Roman in the hallway, and they exchanged looks with one another, before Roman asked, "She didn't decide to drive you to the airport and say goodbye?"

"Said goodbyes aren't her 'thing'." Dean muttered grumpily as he said quietly in a cold voice, "Let's just fuckin leave. Now." making his two stablemates look at him then each other, mouth "Just fucking great.. Now we get Mox back. And we thought his Ambrose persona was a jerk.." while wondering what'd happened to make their stablemate so angry.

"You didn't hurt her.. Right?" Seth asked with a glare as he looked at Dean who rolled his eyes in annoyance and said through gritted teeth, "Just because she ain't here, you both automatically assume I messed up, huh?"

"That's pretty much the standard." Roman muttered as Dean glared at them both and said "She couldn't get the hell outta Dodge fast enough. For her own good though. Can't fault her for knowing somehow I'm not a good guy." as he shrugged it off, smirked as he said "Just leaves me more time for more girls in the next town, huh?"

His friends exchanged a weird look and then groaned simultaneously. Something was a little off with their stablemate, it didn't take a genius to see that.. But what was it?

Because Dean Ambrose was an icy cold bastard.. Right?

Ashley slammed the door shut to her small 4 room house and cranked up an oldies station, growling when Suspicious Minds came on.. For some reason, when she heard a song like that, for the past three days, she seemed to find herself thinking or picturing Jon, that cocky smirk of his..

"It's just because he's got a smirk like fucking Elvis Presley or James Dean, for the love of God." she ground out through gritted teeth and opened a cabinet, grabbing a bottle of Jim Beam, sitting at the counter that seperated her kitchenette from the small living space that held her tv and a small sectional couch. She slid her long legs up on the bar and lighting a cigarette, she poured herself a good stiff drink.

Because somehow, she got the distinct feeling she was going to need to drink herself to sleep tonight. Breaking addictions, though, were always tricky at best. "What the fuck was I even thinking when I agreed to have a one night stand with the guy just so we'd both get each other out of our system? I mean really, how freaking stupid can I get?" she muttered aloud as she took another few gulps and closed her eyes, letting her mind go back to earlier in the day, his hands, his body against her body, his lips all over her. The way he wasn't too rough with her, but he wasn't too gentle either.

"Fuck it. I'm gonna take a cold shower and call it a night. He's on the plane by now. And in a week or two, we'll be back to our old lives, if not sooner." she said as she stripped down, walked down the hallway to the small bathroom beside her bedroom and stepped into an icy shower.

With the shower done, she tried to get into bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.. Her mind, however, had other ideas, and she got treated to a steamy replay of today's events.


	8. family ties, lies and other complication

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**Okay, so I've added even more complications, in the form of Ted Dibiase Jr ( a distant cousin she grew up with, fictionally of course) and Randy Orton (who she also "Grew up with", more will be revealed about all of those connections lataer, no worries). Not to mention that pesky reporter... Gotta love endless drama.. But who will cave in first? Will Dean go to her, or will she surprise us all and go to him?**

**Gotta love cliffhangers, right?**

* * *

Two weeks passed for them quickly, Dean on the road, Ashley throwing herself back into her work at the garage, various other things she did to help forget him. Which, naturally, she couldn't. For one thing, the jerk haunted her dreams and thoughts, day and night, and for another, he apparently had her jacket, a pair of her panties and her mobile phone, which had naturally been in her jacket, when she left them behind at his hotel room that night, in her hurry to get out of there. She glared at the cordless phone's handset as her mobile number went to voicemail for the 20th time it seemed. She called back and then left a message, telling him her mailing address, and telling him to send her stuff back. She just wanted this behind her, she just wanted to forget.

Not to mention, her ex fiancee, Andy had just gotten out of jail, he'd been in for almost 6 months after they'd broken up and he'd been arrested for domestic violence, disturbing the peace and various other charges, plus numerous parole violations, and he was now focused on making her life a living hell again, and she just didn't want or need any of the shit on her plate currently, because her life as it w ere, were complicated enough.

But try as she might, she hadn't been able to forget him. She scowled as she stared at the longneck bottle on the white countertop in front of her, the beer sitting there getting lukewarm. Why couldn't she just pretend they hadn't happened, that they hadn't clicked for whatever reason that night?

Because he wasn't her type and there was no way she could be his. And beyond that, they just couldn't work.

A ragged sigh escaped her lips as she raised the bottle to them and shotgunned it's contents, leaning back, taking a long pull off a cigarette. "He better mail the stuff back. I mean I got a phone, but still.. I don't want him to have a reason to show up or somethin." she muttered aloud to herself in the semi darkened living space of her small house.

And, apparently, Dean, well he couldn't forget her either. This thought had him both perplexed and currently rather pissed off as he sat on the bed in his hotel room in some other town, that felt like a lifetime away from her, from that night, from everything he kept dreaming of, rehashing and making himself angrier and moodier than he'd ever been before, over.

"Just find her number and call her, man. We seriously cannot take anymore of your mood swings. And the whole 'bang every girl in the area code the show happens to be in' thing? It's not working. You either wind up sending them out of the room before anything happens, or you wind up scaring them so damn bad that it's a miracle you're even still working with the WWE." Seth said calmly as he lounged on the second bed in the hotel room, watching both his friend and the rain pouring down outside.

Dean glared and then grumbled something as Roman looked up and said calmly, "He's right, man. This whole thing you've got going is worse than last time you got into one of your moods. It stops now."

"Or what, Joe?"

"I spear your ass." Roman stated with a smirk as Dean glared at him a moment, hand in his hair. His icy blue eyes went to the title belt on the bed he slept in, and he thought about what his friends both said. True, they both had very valid points, and yes, they both cared immensely about his well being, which currently, was not good at all.

But the simple fact remained, it wasn't their place or their business. And he was NOT going to turn into some weak ass, whipped little bitch of a man over a simple one night stand. The girl hadn't even been his type to begin with, she was mouthy, independent, she had probably just as much piss and vinegar in her veins as he had in his.

None of these things made for any kind of lasting connection, even if he actually did want one.

Dean stood and stretched then said quietly, "I'm goin for a run. Alone."

He began to dig through his suitcases, stumbled on the damn leather jacket again. This time, however, he noticed that there was something in the pocket. He stuck his hand in, digging out a cell phone, a pocketknife/multi tool and a set of brass knuckles, an antique silver plated lighter.

More shit to remind him of her, he thought to himself as he noticed the phone was dead, but it took the same plug end that his own mobile phone did. He plugged in the phone, turned it on.

There were at least 20 missed calls, over half he suspected were actually from her home phone line, and the other half, from the looks of it, from some last realization had his anger surging, had him in a jealous rage in at least a record 3 seconds, even though deep down, he knew he didn't have any real right. She had told him, and plainly, that this was a one night stand. And that after their one night, they'd never see each other again, ever.

He jotted down the mailing address she'd given him, and made a mental note to send the stuff back to her. Maybe it was for the best if this was over, it was done with. He knew he was a monster deep down, he knew that he'd hurt her, or they'd mutually hurt each other before it all worked out, if it even could work between them.

Besides, from the sound of the voicemail, she came with complications, and the fact that he knew little to nothing about her other than the way she smelled, sounded, tasted, felt to the touch, well.. Jonathan Good just wasn't honestly sure if she was worth all the hassle. Or at least he told himself that as he made his way down to the mailing area in the hotel's lobby about an hour later, jacket and panties in hand, intent on mailing the things back and being done with this whole weird chapter of his life.

The reporter came out of nowhere and tapped his shoulder, smirking when he turned around. "What?" Dean hissed as the reporter said with a smirk, "Just thought you'd want to know.. Your recent bad behavior has been called attention to, we're about to do a story on you. And on how that little girlfriend of yours has moved on apparently, to Randy Orton."

"And I give a flyin fuck because?" Dean asked as the man held up the picture of her, leaving his hotel room, that night, in his shirt, accompanied by a more recent one, of her, at a diner, with Randy, a dark haired guy that Dean recognized eventually to be Ted Dibiase Jr, his family, and a few other people... "Don't think your little girlfriend would be too happy to learn what you get up to, on the road.. Especially considering how cozy you two looked.. Then again, she is apparently really chummy with Orton.."

Dean's anger and jealousy surged for a few moments, but he rolled his eyes and made a mental note to call her in a little bit, remind her what he'd told her. She was gonna get it through her head one way or another, she belonged to him now..No one but him.

Dean growled then said stiffly, "Run the damn story. Not like she'll ever see it. Not like either of us give two shits, really.. Haven't you ever heard of a consentual one night stand?" pretending not to give a shit either way, trying to keep his anger, the jealousy in check.

The reporter glared at him and he laughed then said casually, "Guess that answered my question about why ya left hand looks so damn strong. Just stick to what you know, man." before turning on his heel and walking off. The reporter glared after him and called out, "So it's all true then? You have been almost suspended at least 2 times? I mean not with the WWE, but it still happened..."

"So I got a problem with authority, man." Dean said with a smug smirk as he continued to walk away, angrier than he had been moments before, now. It wouldn't do for him to get his hands on someone, anyone who pissed him off, really... It just so happened that he got his chance a few moments later, when he turned a corner, found himself chest to chest with Randy Orton. The two of them hadn't gotten along, ever actually, and lately, things were more tense than they had been, Dean's plan on going for Randy's belt having come to light recently on and offscreen.

"The fuck? Watch where you're going, man. I am the face of this company." Randy smirked as he said this, Dean growled as he gave him a firm shove and said "From here, Orton, looks like all you are is a 3rd generation pussy to me. Why don't you make me watch it, huh?"

"I'll see your ass in the ring.. Maybe that pretty little girlfriend of yours back in Mississippi sees what a piece of shit she's involved with and what a real man can do, Good.. I mean I have known her a really, really long time and I am single now.. And I did see her a few nights ago when I went to see Ted.." Randy said with a smirk as Dean glared, growling, his entire spine stiffening as he punched Randy in the face as hard as possible.

"She's mine, Orton.. You even fuckin breathe around her, man and I'll..."

"You won't do shit.. Especially after I took the liberty of telling her cousin Ted what the fuck you two got up to.. See, Ted Dibiase Jr is real protective of his family.. And she happens to be a distant cousin, at least last time I checked.. And I really don't think you want your ass kicked by him and ALL of his friends, Good, including me.. You're trash, face it."

"You're fuckin dead, Orton.. And as far as Dibiase Jr.. Where the hell is he now, huh? Because it ain't here, apparently. So you just go ahead, try and stop me.. But when I want something, Orton, I get it.. One way or another." Dean growled as he shoved Randy again, the fight breaking out beyond anyone's control.

Roman and Seth happened to catch up to their friend, and a few of Randy's friends offscreen caught hold of him and as soon as Roman and Seth had Dean back in the room they asked him, "Are you fucking serious right now? We're a part of his gimmick, man.. If we wind up getting pushed out because of this."

"You won't, damn it.. Orton's got a challenge now. And my plans still haven't changed.. One way or another, I'm gonna get everything I want.. That belt, Ashley.. No matter what it takes."

"Problem with this, Good.. Ashley's pretty much made it crystal clear how she feels about anything beyond one night with you.. Why's she so damn important anyway, huh?"

"Because, fuck you, that's why. I want her. And I don't care how clear she's made it.. She'll give in again.. I got her to the first time, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but now she's so eager to put it all behind her, she's leaving voicemails on her own phone, which you have, getting you to mail her stuff back. If she wanted you around, Good, she'd want to see you face to face."

"She's doing this, guys, because she's scared to fucking death to feel anything.. I've pulled the same move too damn many times to count." Dean mused to himself, cocky grin in place.

This pretty much decided things for him, what his next course of action was going to be.. He and Ashley, well they were just going to have to have a little chat, now weren't they?

And the sooner it happened, the better.

Meanwhile, in Biloxi, Ashley stared at her older cousin Ted with a glare in her eyes, her hands on her hips. She laughed as he said gently, "I mean it, Ash.. Look up stuff on this guy, he's every bit the asshole everybody keeps sayin he is.. And I just think that you need to move on, forget the one night stand ever happened, chalk it up to a mistake.. Still don't see why you couldn't just meet Orton that night, at the diner, instead of goin off to that bar."

"Are you even being serious right now, Ted? Because it almost seems like you're tellin me I'm not allowed to see the guy.. Which is funny, because I told you a thousand times, I have no interest in getting involved in another relationship.. With anyone.. Randy Orton is included in this.. Look, I get that you and Uncle Teddy are old fashioned, but seriously.. It's a new age, a girl can take care of herself. I have been since I was too damn little to remember." Ashley flared, her temper at an all time high.

Ted hugged her and said quietly, "I just worry about you, Ash. I always have. You're wild, you like taking risks and sometimes, kiddo, those risks blow up right in your face. I hate seeing you hurt."

She groaned and then looked at the tickets to the next WWE show in her hands, the plane tickets on the counter.. She'd read an article online, about Jon, earlier, that'd affected her in a way she hadn't expected. She'd seen him all over several different girls, prettier girls, and she was furious.

His words (Jon's) from that night kept echoing in her mind, and she'd decided by 5 pm, after being hounded by some shitty dirt sheet writer about Orton's recent 'visit' to Mississippi, about her going out to dinner with Ted and Randy and her other family, people she'd known her entire life, really.. Well, she'd decided that maybe her mama was right.. What worked for the goose, which was her in this case, worked for the gander..

And if Jon were going to get angry and leave 7 furious voicemails on her home line, then well, she was going to be the classier one and confront him, face to face.

Which could go either good or bad...

"I just think it's for the best, Ash, if you don't go off on a wild hair. Look, I'm not saying you can't see him, or you shouldn't go to the show.. I just think that the way things have been going lately, you need to stay the hell away from the guy.." Ted explained as she sighed and raking her hands through her hair said quietly, "Maybe you're right.. I mean I did make it pretty clear that after that one night, we were done."

When her cousin left, she sat at the dining table, staring at the tickets while her anger surged.. Now it was accompanied by confusion and jealousy.. And her cousin's urging to look into him, his past, really actually take a good hard look at the man who was apparently able to do what no other could and get to her..

"If I go... I'll never be able to resist the guy.. And he'll be right about what he told me that night, and the last thing I wanna do is make him cockier.. But if I don't go, I'm never gonna know how this all coulda went... Hmm.." she muttered quietly as she poured herself a shot and sat there, trying to make her mind up one way or another.. She had two days to make up her mind..

"Fuck it.. I'm not deciding this shit until I've gotten a damn nights sleep." she scowled as she rose from her chair, slunk down her hall and flung herself across the bed, turning up Jimi Hendrix, letting Purple Haze play, hoping the guitar would eventually lull her to sleep.

And praying to God that her sleep for once, was dreamless. And not filled with dreams of Jon. Ted did care about her, and he did work with the guy.. So did Randy.. Who was also a friend.. And if they said he was a bad guy.. If the dirt sheet article wasn't a sheer load of bullshit..


	9. a surprise visitor pt I

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**Okay, so some of my original character's past sort of mirrors Dean's to an extent. Not completely, it just might help the two of them sort of bridge gaps in this bizarre little relationship they're about to start soon. I was going to have her show up at the arena he was doing a show in, but this idea hit me, and I went with it. I hope you guys like it, and that I've managed to write it as IC as possible, all things considered.**

**So they're together again.. Now what can happen?**

**Oh yeah.. And Eva Marie is a red herring, she's sort of just mentioned in this chapter, because it seems like she'd pursue pretty much any guy on the roster.. And I do not like her. She's probably not going to be in the story beyond that mention, tha t's how much I loathe writing about her or even thinking about her really.**

* * *

'Just look into the guy, Ash.. You'll see I'm right, Randy's right. He's a lost cause, he's really as big an asshole as everyone says he was and he will hurt you if you let him close.'kept repeating over and over in her mind as she sat down that night, a cold beer nearby, her cigarettes and the laptop.

Her fingers lingered over Google search for a few moments and Ashley scowled. "Ted's just being overprotective, as usual. And this is just a one time thing. So why do I care what anyone thinks? I mean it's not like it's gonna happen again." she muttered, mostly to herself as the door to her house was knocked on.

"Come in, damn it." Ashley called out, groaning when she saw her only close female friend Gia standing there, hand on her hip. "Ya not gonna come out with the rest of us tonight?"

"Nah.. I'm trying to decide if I should go to the town 'he who shall not be named' is in and confront him about all that shit I saw online.. About why he hasn't bothered tellin that stupid as all fuck reporter I ain't his girl and this doesn't matter." Ashley explained as Gia looked at her a moment then coughing to cover the word 'bullshit' she sat down at the stool next to her friend and said "Ya know, Ash.. I've known ya a lot of years now.. And I've seen you through all phases of relationships and non relationships.. You feel something for this guy, I can tell."

"Oh really.. And you're gonna go Dr. Phil on me now, huh?"

"Yeah.. What were you about to do? Google his real name?"

"No, I was thinkin about it, not real sure if I should, to be honest. I mean I don't feel anything for..." Ashley started as Gia again broke out into the 'bullshit' cough from before and pointed out, "That's crap, hon, or you wouldn't be sitting here, in the dark, online, pissed at some stupid article that probably ain't even true in the first place. Google the guy. I'm just curious to see what you saw in him, considering you were a rude ass and ya didn't even bother to introduce him to your best girl friend." Gia said as she uncapped the long neck bottle and took a long pull from it, staring Ashley down.

Ashley's fingers hesitated yet again in the google search bar and she took a deep breath before typing in his real name. She scrolled down the list, clicked on some youtube video that she saw his face in the description of, and hit play. Apparently, it was a candid interview, done when he was first getting started in either the independent circuit, or in FCW.

About an hour in, she took a few deep breaths and muttered quietly, "Wow.. Now everything about that annoying as all fuck guy makes sense."

Gia blinked and said quietly, "Man.. I thought you had a rough life before you came to live with your parent's brothers." as Ashley sucked in a sharp breath and muttered, "Yeah.. Kinda makes me feel like shit now, givin the guy such a hard fucking time when they were here."

"So.. Are you gonna go to him?"

Ashley twisted a black gel pen between her fingers while the words from the interview echoed around in her mind, his candid thoughts on pretty much everything.. The thought of their similarities also nagged at her.. Her father left her, and if it hadn't been for his family, the Dibiase family, she'd never actually have had a fatherly influence in her life.. Sure, her mama's brother was a good guy, but he was more like the 'fun uncle' when she'd lived with him for a while as a kid, when her mom went to rehab.

Ted Sr. was dad. He'd been involved in her life from the beginning, even after her parents split and her father ran off to only god knew where, and the sad part of it was that her own father hadn't even been Ted Sr.'s whole brother.. He'd been a brother only because of an affair.

So he really hadn't had to be anything to Ashley. Yet he'd stepped up, and he had been nearly everything to her.. Ted was more like a big brother than a cousin if she stopped to think about it.

That alone, his warning about Jon should have been enough for Ashley, but she couldn't help but feel the same pull she had when Jon Good had been here, in person, while watching him on this video on youtube.

"Hey, let's watch some of his wrestlin promos. He's a hottie, Ash, damn girl, you let him go?" Gia asked incrediously as she made them sandwiches across the room. Ashley hesitated a moment then said quietly, "I'm twice as fucked up as him though, Gia, and sooner or later, I'd flip out and run.. I can't make anything work without messing it up.. Hello, I've played runaway bride twice now?"

"That one time was spring break in Vegas, Ash, I hardly think it counts." Gia countered as she said solemnly, "As much as I love your cousin Ted, I think this time, Ash, the decision is yours only. Ya can't just keep letting outside interference in.. Besides, that man is... Damn.."

"It's not just looks, Gia.. I mean I felt somethin when he was here.. But it doesn't mean he did too. Takes more than one person to make a relationship work." Ashley countered as she took the sandwich from Gia's hands then gave into curiousity and clicked on one of his earlier promos from his independent wrestling career, a promo in which he walked people through the 'obstacles' he had to endure while making a simple walk home from school.

And Ashley found herself going back to the winter her own mother lived in Detroit, how rough it'd been there too, and how she'd had to deal with her mother being a stripper, being a drug addict.. How she wound up playing the adult through the majority of her own mother's life, sadly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just remembering how much livin in Detroit was like what he just showed viewers.. This crap's gotta be made up, Gia, it means nothing.. For all I know he could be some rich guy, pretending to be like this, pretending to have gone through this just to make his career seem legit.. I mean hell... Orton pretends to have IUD."

"Actually, Ash, he is a little bit unbalanced, girl. And as far as this guy goes? You can fake a lot.. But that pain? He ain't faking that." Gia mused as Ashley shrugged and said "Still means nothing, I mean yeah, so best case scenario, it makes us both grade A fuck ups.. That's enough to make any relationship I did attempt to build with the guy explode in a disgusting emotional mess, Gia, nothing more."

"You're such a little pessimist tonight, girl.. Just go there, damn it." Gia insisted as she shoved the tickets and the plane ticket into her friend's hand then pointed out, "If you leave now, Ash, you can trade in your plane ticket for tomorrow, for a red eye. You gotta take a risk sometime."

"No, Gia, I do not. Ted warned me away for a reason."

"Yeah, so he can shove Randy down your throat.. Look, he's a well meaning family member, but of the two, who scares ya more?"

Ashley mulled it over and then said quietly, "Randy.. And I've never really given him a chance."

"You let him take ya out to dinner when he was in town to visit Ted, talk about a future gimmick.. You tell me everything, remember?"

She bristled. Gia did have a point. Ashley did tell her everything, which made it really easy for Gia to call bullshit on her, on occasions like this. Sighing, she looked at Gia and said "Okay, alright, damn it." as she tossed Gia her keys and said "If I'm leavin tonight, I want you to keep the car while I'm gone."

"Right, because someone's gonna steal that piece of shit car." Gia joked as Ashley huffed and said calmly, "It is not a piece of shit. It is a classic American muscle car, and it is fully restored. Dont' talk about my husband that way."

"Ya can't screw a car, Ash. Go already, damn. I'll get my coat, drive you to the airport.."

After she'd shoved the last of her bags into the trunk of the car, she flopped into the passenger seat.. They were just about to leave when a cab pulled to a stop in front of her house.

And Jon stepped out, a grim and slightly angry look in his eyes. Gia looked from Ashley to Jon and then said quietly, "I'm gonna go. Call me? And fix this, girl!"

She skipped down the block, disappearing into her own house as Ashley looked at Jon a few moments before exploding with **"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"**

Dean smirked and held out her jacket, the panties, her cell phone and shrugging, he pointed out, "It's downtime. Had nothing better to do. Thought I'd return your stuff.. And point out a thing to ya."

"Oh really.. And what's that, Jon?"

"I told ya, you're mine.. What the fuck were you doing at a restaurant with Ted Dibiase Jr and Randy Orton?"

She studied him a moment before doubling over in side splitting laughter, then stopping to look up at him. He looked unamused. He looked furious.. But none of this scared her for some reason.

It probably should have, but it didn't.

"So you came all the way here to lecture me? Jon, you don't fucking know me.. And besides.. Maybe I saw all that shit about you and that Ronald McDonald ass clown clone? You know, the one who's supposedly fucking engaged? Hardly think you got room to tell me who I can and can't eat with, in that case.. Teddy's my cousin and Randy's an old friend, damn it."

"So ya did get jealous?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Jon, damn it, I told you already.. That night? That 3 days you were here? Moments of weakness. And I'm not intending to let them happen again, so this campaign to 'break me', well... It's not gonna work, and it needs to end now." Ashley insisted, standing chest to chest with him almost, giving a light shove in anger, scowling when he apparently saw it coming, braced himself and smirked at her, before leaning down, grabbing hold of the back of her neck with his hand, and pulling her mouth greedily against his.

She growled and her eyes popped open wide, her knees began to weaken again, and for a moment, she saw the smallest flash of some sort of unidentifiable emotion in those ice blue eyes.

But when he opened his mouth, the sheer romance of the moment was gone, and of course, she was back to wanting to strangle him with her bare hands, yet again.

"If I wanted to break ya, Ashley, I'd have fuckin done it and been done with ya already. I'm not really into bullshit and games when I want something. No, you make me curious, ya in my damn head and damn it, I'm sick of it already. It's not supposed to happen. I'm an ice man, I'm not supposed to feel anything, about anyone, ever. Not saying I do feel anything for ya, but damn it, I just want you the fuck out of my head."

"And I want you the fuck out of mine." Ashley said as she hoisted her bags out of the trunk, started carrying them back into her house, Jon grabbing one, brow raised. "And where the hell were you going?"

"I was coming, Jon, to confront you about your constantly being in my head and how I hated that. I was coming because I'm sick of losing sleep because I can't stop dreaming about you and your annoying cocky ass." Ashley said patiently, as she stepped back inside her house, turned on a few of the lights overhead and said "Hope you got a hotel or somethin."

"Didn't think beyond gettin on the plane, to be honest." Dean muttered as he looked around, then at her, flopped onto the couch. She groaned and palmed her face.

Well now, this was just great.. Just how the hell was she going to deal with this, his showing up here? And why did he come back here? Did he not see just how 'not good enough' she was for him, what a screw up she was?


	10. 2 weeks with you, pt I

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**Okay, so some of my original character's past sort of mirrors Dean's to an extent. Not completely, it just might help the two of them sort of bridge gaps in this bizarre little relationship they're about to start soon. I was going to have her show up at the arena he was doing a show in, but this idea hit me, and I went with it. I hope you guys like it, and that I've managed to write it as IC as possible, all things considered.**

**So they're together again.. Now what can happen?**

**Oh yeah.. And Eva Marie is a red herring, she's sort of just mentioned in this chapter, because it seems like she'd pursue pretty much any guy on the roster.. And I do not like her. She's probably not going to be in the story beyond that mention, tha t's how much I loathe writing about her or even thinking about her really.**

* * *

She glared at him, one hand on her hip and the other hand in her long dark hair as she tried to resist the urge to choke him. Dean held out his hand for the phone in her hand, and she shook her head, mouthed, "This ain't your business, Jon." as he mouthed back, "It is if it's another fuckin guy."

"I'm not your property." Ashley insisted as he snatched the phone and for a second, let his hand linger at her neck, looking every bit like he wanted to strangle her like she wanted to strangle him, or she had been wanting to, for the past few hours since he'd shown up on her doorstep.

The guy on the other end of the phone said "Ash.. You there? Don't you make me angry girl, you won't like what happens when I get angry.." and Dean said calmly, quietly, "This isn't Ashley. But this is her new man. And if you wanna keep breathing bud, I'd forget this number."

Andy laughed and said "Who the fuck do you think you are answering my fiancee's phone?"

Dean pivoted on his heel, gave Ashley a death glare and Ashley rolled her eyes, then shrugged as she calmly laughed and walked out of the room, only after snatching the phone back from Dean and saying firmly, "Ex you slimy bastard. And if I remember correctly, hon, last time ended with your ass in the ER at the county hospital getting stitches in your head. Think about it, Andrew.. Do you really wanna come over here and piss me off again, resulting in you going straight back to jail? Because it's called a restraining order, dick."

Andy glared at the phone in his hand and took a drag from his cigarette as he said with a smirk, "Aww, you do remember.. But do you remember what happened AFTER the stitches, I wonder?"

Ashley by now, was in the den, tv up, swearing at a game. Dean chuckled and said "Bud, if you're smart.. You'll fuck off. She don't want ya, otherwise she'd have obviously married ya in the first place. And from the sound of it, Andrew, the last thing you want is a woman you obviously cannot handle."

He slammed the phone down on it's cradle, walked into the den angrily and snatching the remote, he turned off the tv.

"I was watchin that, asshead."

"We're gonna have that talk now, Ashley."

"Like hell we are, Good. You're gonna move your cocky ass out from in front of my television before I..." Ashley started, only to blink in surprise when he stood mere inches away from her face, a tight grip on her wrists, both of them. "Before ya what?" he asked with a smug grin as she sighed and said "Fine, but make it quick. The Patriots are about to completely fuck this one up and I happen to wanna see it when it happens. I could care less about your little talk."

He huffed and then said in an irritated voice, "It's not a little talk, Ashley.. I'm about to finally prove to you that I do mean it, and you are mine."

She rolled her eyes and waved at him dismissively as she smirked confidently.

He looked downward, noticed that she happened to be wearing his tanktop, the one she'd taken from the hotel, before she left that last time they'd been together. "Case in point, Ash.. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't be layin around here in my tanktop, now would ya."

"It's comfy." she mumbled bitterly through a mouth full of heavily buttered popcorn.

"That's bullshit." Dean muttered as he leaned in, tilted up her chin with the tip of his index finger and smirking again said "You wear it because deep down, ya know I'm right. Ya like thinkin about me, dreamin about me. Ya missed me.. In your own way, of course. But the fact still remains, ya missed me, or ya woulda given the damn shirt back through Randy or Ted Jr."

"Riiight.. Ya know, Jon, for someone who claims not to give a damn about anyone but you, you're really tryin hard to make me believe I'm fallin for you or something." Ashley muttered in amusement as she grabbed hold of the collar of his t shirt and used it to pull him down on the couch.

"Woman, anyone ever told you you might be bipolar with all these mood swings?"

"I wanted your ass out of the way of my television, Jon. So I moved you." Ashley stated simply as she sighed and then shut the television off. Every time she tried to use her usual defenses, her snippiness, her sarcasm, her sharp tongued wit against him, she'd remember the look in his eyes during that one early promo of his, and she'd feel like shit, like a pathetic human being.

There was something there, and yes, he was right, they did need to address it and decide what would or wouldn't happen next.

She knew this, but the emotionally crippled child inside of her, the one who'd been juggled around 3 different homes as a child, grown up with no actual rules (unless of course she was at 'daddy Dibiase's house') to abide by, well, it shrank away in fear. She didn't know how to cope with someone actually working through, (bulldozing through was more of a term than working through) her various issues with emotions and relationships and letting people as close to her as he'd apparently managed to have gotten with just a mere 3 days to do it in, at that.

"Thought ya wanted to watch the game." Jon mocked her as he flopped back on the couch, his head landing in her lap, making her entire body stiffen. He mused to himself about this a moment, wondering why in the hell she had something against someone touching her unless she specifically asked or told them to do so, but he was smart enough to keep quiet.

"You're right. We do have to talk. Better now than later when you've done something to piss me off, yet again, or you're so damn mad at me you could break my neck, right? Maybe if we discuss this now, calmly, we won't wind up getting out the guns and knives."

"Whips and chains are okay, right?" Dean teased with a smirk and a gleam in his eyes as he looked up at her. She rolled her eyes and then muttered "It's always about sex. Damn you and your libido."

"I'm a man, damn it, it's gonna be about sex. Can't help it." Dean said calmly as she sighed and then thought about how to phrase what she was about to say. He watched her, brow raised and she said quietly, " My cousin Teddy.. He told me to look into you.. I think he was hopin it'd scare me off.. All it made me do was realize why we might have clicked like we did."

Dean's stomach lurched, anger rose to the surface for a moment and he asked through gritted teeth, "My life's not any of your fuckin business. Whatever ya found, forget ya saw it or heard it, read it or whatever."

"I tried. But it's all too much like my life."

He looked at her a moment as things, small things about her started to click into place, suddenly making him feel like the worlds biggest jerk. And he'd never actually felt that way before when he'd fought with someone. "Such as?" he asked, curiousity winning out for the moment.

"Ted Sr... He's my daddy's half brother.. Or so my grandma claimed. That's not the point.. The point is, I grew up thrown around between 3 houses, if you count my mama in Detroit, when she wasn't in rehab or something.. My uncles both lived here, and between the two of 'em, they managed to keep me from realizing just how bad everything got. But I did anyway. Especially when I lived with my mama." Ashley said as she focused on her nails and grit her teeth, her mouth setting into a line, almost a scowl.

Dean sat up a little and then said quietly, "And?"

"My mama did the same stuff.. I can pretty much guarantee you that I went through a lot of things similar to what you said you did in those interviews." Ashley said as he stiffened now, and for some reason or another, she found herself raking her hands slowly through his thick shaggy hair, remarking off handedly, "You should grow it out a little."

"Ya liked that, huh?"

"Yeah.. All but the way ya nostrils flared out in the picture. Made ya look like an angry lion or something.."

He chuckled a little at the observation then guided the conversation they were having back onto topic as he said quietly, "My ma.. She was on drugs, she was always bringing different men home. A lot of 'em were your basic get high, fuck, pass out kinda guys.. But there were a few.."

"Don't.. Just stop, okay? I know what you're gonna say, and I know what you mean.. My point in telling you this, Jon, is to say that we're both really, really messed up."

"Ya don't say?" Dean muttered sarcastically as he caught hold of her hand as it raked through his hair, and looked up at her, then added calmly, "It could either work out or it could get really, really ugly."

"But I'm too damn scared to try, either way.. I just.. I don't let people in. I can't. And you.. You said that you don't either.." Ashley said as he looked up and shrugged then suggested, "Look.. I got 2 weeks off. Let's just see what the hell happens, okay?"

"No labels. You have to stop labeling things, Jon."

"I never labeled anything, Ash." Dean insisted as he tried not to laugh. So getting her to cave to his suggestion, the one he'd come up with on the plane ride here, well, it'd been easier than he thought.

Ashley said quietly, "Fine. I can deal with that."

Dean chuckled and muttered quietly, "Like I was gonna give ya a choice." as he looked up then asked aloud, "I don't have to actually get a hotel room.."

Ashley shrugged then muttered to herself "Something tells me I'm gonna regret this." before saying aloud, "Why bother.. I mean it's not like we're.. You know." while hiding a slight laugh behind her hand. Dean laughed a little then asked casually, "So, you're going to feed me.. Right? I'm fucking starving."

"Kitchen is right over there, stud, knock yourself out." Ashley joked as she stood, making him give her a dirty look and pout when he had to sit up to let her stand, then holding out her hand, she said quietly, "I know this place.."

Dean nodded then said "Do you even cook at all, woman?"

"Let's put it this way, Jon.. Last time I actually cooked, in that kitchen, Teddy and Ted Sr wound up extinguishing a fire and Randy threatened to upload the end result to Youtube." as she laughed a little, noting the tense look on his face when she mentioned that. She sighed and said quietly, "Shit, sorry.. See what I mean though, Jon? I'm not good at this shit.. Not in the slighest.. Hell, I've ran from 2 weddings."

"Just two?" Dean asked with a joking smirk as he grabbed hold of her and pinning her against the door, muttered into her lips, "Guess it's good I didn't come down here to ask ya to marry me now, huh.. No worries, Ash.. I'm not the settle kind either. This doesn't have to be complicated."

"You say that, Jon, but everything about us and this situation is. I mean we're not even together and we're fighting about rumors and pictures of each of us out with other people." Ashley sighed as he glared then said "That bitch grabbed hold of me. Like I'd ever fuckin deal with someone who's got Ronald McDonald hair. What about you and Orton?"

"He's an old friend who's going through really really messy divorce.. I'd probably throw up and choke on my own vomit if I ever kissed him or something.. It'd be too damn weird.. Besides, he's not my type."

"Oh really.." Dean muttered as his hand slid through her hair, his lips crashed into hers again as he asked breathlessly, "Just what is your type?"

"Well, he's good at putting up with my shit.." Ashley muttered as she slid off his jacket and threw it onto the floor, raked her hands through his hair as she deepened the kiss and muttered "He's not into doing the whole cuddle thing, after sex, which is good.. Because I prefer getting showers." before looking at him and winking a little, licking her lips, swollen and stinging from the onslaught of heated kisses they were exchanging currently, as he asked, "Go on?"

"He's got these really, really stormy and intense blue eyes.. And he can give me this look.." Ashley muttered, stopping herself as she started to realize that this was giving him too much power for the moment. She pouted up at him in frustration and then said calmly, "See? You're doin it again."

"Doing what?" Dean asked as he leaned in, gripping her shirt, pulling her lips back against his lips as he muttered, "Making you maybe admit that you do feel something, huh, Ms. Ice Queen? Maybe I'm melting all those layers of ice?"

"You're a fine one to talk, Ice King."

"Oh.. You're meltin me.. I'm just not stupid enough to show it." Dean admitted, shocking himself as his hand slipped up the hem of her t shirt, moved slowly across her smooth and soft skin, just like he remembered from the last time they'd been alone together.

They both started to laugh as their stomachs begin to growl.

"Can we please, for the love of Christ and the Virgin Mary, go get food?" Ashley asked as he nodded and then said "Let's go. I get pissed when I go too long without food. Or alchol."

"Same here." Ashley admitted with a slight laugh as they straightened themselves up and locked up the house, getting into her car. The drive to the cafe was quiet, both of them trying to process the insanity that was their whole connection..

This was going to be an interesting 2 weeks, Dean found himself admitting mentally, as Ashley just wondered what the hell she could possibly be thinking, agreeing to 2 weeks with him, when she knew what happened after one night, how one night almost drove her insane when he'd gone.

2 weeks was too long, then again, it wasn't really long enough.. She knew at the end of it, she'd want more.. But like him, she wasn't stupid enough to admit this.

Now, it was pretty much up to Fate and the two of them, and the silence in the cab of the muscle car she drove indicated that this thought was at the front and center of both of their minds.


	11. complications pt I

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**Okay, so some of my original character's past sort of mirrors Dean's to an extent. Not completely, it just might help the two of them sort of bridge gaps in this bizarre little relationship they're about to start soon. I was going to have her show up at the arena he was doing a show in, but this idea hit me, and I went with it. I hope you guys like it, and that I've managed to write it as IC as possible, all things considered.**

**Uh Oh... more complications..**

* * *

He'd been there for about 3 days by now, it seemed like the two of them had fallen into some kind of familiar rhythym. They fought constantly, of course, but beyond that, there was this unspoken level of comfort between the two of them, and Ashley was sort of getting used to his being there, if she dared admit it. Granted, she never would, but it went without saying..

She sort of liked having him around. And she couldn't lie, their whole 'relationship' or lack thereof was sort of freeing. She didn't have to hold back with him, physically, because he could actually handle her.

Not that other guys couldn't, but.. He actually knew what she wanted without her having to hold his hand and guide him when they were intimate.

Sex, however, Ashley knew wasn't the best basis for a relationship, which is also why she was glad that she'd made it plain that she didn't want any labels on anything. He seemed to agree with that, which suited her just fine. For once a guy wasn't trying to force her out of her comfort zone.

But lately, she'd started to wonder if maybe, just maybe her 'comfort zone' wasn't good enough anymore. She'd started to try and deal with and sort through what she might feel for him, and even if she never admitted it to him or another living soul, she had to admit to herself at least, that she did feel something towards him. She wasn't entirely sure if it was actually love or not, but.. She felt something.

Today had actually been a good one, apart from the few arguments they'd had off and on during the day, one over just how long she worked and how 'bored' he got sitting there at her house waiting on her to get off from work.

They'd just gotten back from the diner, having grabbed something to eat on their way back from his picking her up from work, and they'd only just gotten settled in on the couch when his cell phone rang. Dean growled as he looked at the ID, discovered that apparently, some idiot he shared a roster with (and the first name that sprang to mind when he thought about it was Randy Orton, of course )had taken it upon themselves to give that disgusting and oh so annoying bitch Eva Marie his actual cell phone number.

Ashley stole a glance at the phone and said nothing, but for a moment felt extremely jealous of this Eva important was Jon to her? She wondered for a split second as he stood and walked outside if she was a girlfriend or a fiancee or something, and then she realized that if she were, he would have probably told her about this Eva person up front. He just didn't seem like the kind of guy to hide things, or he hadn't been so far, if she thought back long and hard on it. "Then again, Ash.. You know what lengths guys will go to when they really want sex.. And males lie. It's a universal fact." she muttered to herself as she watched the door, debating on whether she should call this whole thing now, before she really did something stupid and let him in a whole lot more than she had already.

Dean stood and walked out onto the porch as he said stiffly, "What the fuck do you want?", pacing, swearing under his breath. He didn't understand why, of all the title holders on the roster, this stupid girl felt the urge to keep chasing him. So he'd caved in, had a weak moment while on the road, while trying to fuck Ashley off of his mind. They weren't official.

Somehow, he got the sneaking suspicion that that wasn't going to matter, if Eva and Randy, or God forbid someone else let word get out to Ashley. He suspected that they'd be done faster than he could say goodbye. Ashley, he knew, was skittish, probably twice as skittish about being 'pinned down' than he was himself.

Eva giggled and looked around at the rest of her friends, all of them drinking, talking, and she walked away, said quietly, "I knew you'd give me the wrong phone number, so I found the right one. It's amazing what having friends in high places can do, huh?"

"If by friends in high places you mean Orton, then yeah.." Dean muttered as he paced the small porch, leaned against one of the railings and said "I thought I told ya.. I was drunk offa my ass and I don't fucking like you. Had I not been drunk, I never would have paid you any attention." while raking his hands through his hair slowly, plotting Randy Orton's imminent death.

Because as soon as his downtime was over, he was getting his hands on Orton. About Ashley, about giving this disgusting whore his number, about existing, really. He snickered to himself as he realized what Randy was trying to do, cause problems with himself and Ashley. Most likely, he didn't realize that he and Ashley had some sort of bizarre 'don't ask, don't tell' agreement, even if it was unspoken.

Inside the house, Ashley slammed her fist quietly and carefully into the wall in her small kitchen as she muttered, "I fuckin knew it. I knew he'd be the exact kind of guy to do some stupid shit and lie about it. I knew there was more to that damn reporter's 'statement' in the parking lot than met the eye. And I go ahead and let the guy stay in my fuckin house for 2 weeks.. If that's not me being an idiot, I don't know what is."

Dean kicked at the door, called out from the other side, "So, ya gonna let me in or.."

Ashley looked at the door for a moment while her mind and her heart and her damn horomones argued this whole bizarre thing out. She had her hand on the knob, it made no sense really, to her, why she was getting all bent out of shape about his having had other girls while on the road.

"C'mon.. It's not like we're together, hell, isn't that what ya keep tellin me?" Dean tried from the other side of the door, his arms crossed, getting both angry and desperate all at once. If Eva messed this up for him, he was going to make her wish she'd never chased after him after their one night stand.

Ashley sighed and then said calmly, "That girl.. She's not like a wife or something.."

Dean almost fell over in laughter and said calmly, "Nope. Now fuckin let me in." as he went to turn the door's handle, the door flying open. Ashley looked at him a moment, she was obviously taking great pains to hide her feelings now, he couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling just by seeing the look in her eyes.

"Not like it matters." she muttered as she stepped to the side then stopped him once he was in the door and said firmly, "Don't think this means you're winning or anything, because you're not. I just.. I'm sick of not knowing what I feel. When I figure out it's just me being lonely, we're done."

Dean laughed and looking at her said calmly, with a smug grin, "Think whatever ya wanna, Ash.. Whatever helps ya sleep at night." as he flopped back down on the couch. She glared at him a moment and sat down on the couch also, but much farther from him than she had been moments before he got the call.

When she wasn't looking, he smirked to himself. So it DID hurt her and she WAS jealous of other girls, even though truth be told, Eva was probably the only momentary lapse in strength he'd had since they'd been together the first time he'd been here, with the show, back in September.

He started to say something, she gave him a silencing look and went back to watching tv, angry at herself for being stupid enough not to throw his ass right out on the curb, for getting mixed up at this in the first place, and for being so damn weak where he was concerned, that she was going against her comfort zone.

And mad at him of course, because he seemed like nothing bothered him. He seemed like none of this mattered, he was just here for a 'vacation'.

She muted the television and said calmly, "Just so you know, Jon.. I'm not about to become some girl on the side for you. I haven't needed a guy in my life to complete me before, not about to start now."

He gave her a strange smirk and shrugged then said "Whatever you say, Ash." going silent, watching the tv. His mind was racing, however. Maybe now she saw how HE felt when he'd come to pick her up for lunch and one of those dumb fucking apes she worked with was flirting with her or putting his slimy damned hands on her.

Maybe now she saw that jealousy was a double edged sword.

He turned to her and then said simply, "Doesn't feel so fuckin great, does it?"

Ashley rolled her eyes as she looked up and asked, "What the fuck's that even mean?"

"Means maybe it pisses me off when I come to get ya for lunch and you're in the back, goofing off with one of those fuckin assholes that works at ya shop. That's what it means. So you can fuck anything with a cock, but I can't have one slip up?" Dean asked, the anger surging now, even if it wasn't at her, it was coming out, directed at her.

She laughed hysterically for a few minutes and then leaning in said calmly and quietly, "Interesting.. He thinks I'm screwing half of the guys who work for me. What next, Jon? That waiter at the diner? Because hey, he did look at me for more than one fuckin second." with her own smug smirk as he swore and punched the top of the coffee table, but fell silent, glaring angrily at the muted television.

A few seconds later, he grabbed her arm and made her look at him. "Are ya?" he asked, sneering now, an almost stormy look in his ice blue eyes, commanding an answer.

"If I were, Jon, it'd be none of your god damn business, now would it? We're not exactly exclusive, now are we?" Ashley asked as she backed away, wrenched her arm free and grabbed at his t shirt's collar, sneering at him as she added, "And anyway, I'm not the damn one who's having wild nights with Ronald McDonald's clone, now am I? Do you see me fuckin a clown, Jon?" Ashley asked as she tried not to laugh at the stupidity of this argument.

If they weren't fighting about one thing, she figured, they'd always find time to fight about another. It amused her more than scared her, really. She'd never had a guy who sort of just 'got her' and knew how to handle her, and when to back the hell off.

Not like him at least.

His hand closed over hers as he smirked and muttered, "Fuckin admit it. Ya jealous. Ya so mad right now, about that girl calling my phone ya wanna find her and kill her."

"I'll burn in hell before I give you the satisfaction, Jon." Ashley smirked as she shrugged then asked, "So.. What'd she want?"

"Not that it's any of ya damn business, but I shot her down. She wanted to get together for drinks. I kinda can't considering I came all the way here." Dean said as he shrugged then added, "And by the way, Ash.. The girl who called? Same girl you keep callin a clown clone."

"Jesus Christ.. Were you just momentarily blinded or drunk off your ass or..." Ashley snickered as he shrugged and said "Beer goggles."

"I'd have had to saw my cock off if I were a guy and I woke up next to her the next morning." Ashley muttered, making Dean snicker a little to himself before asking, "So are we done fighting for now or..."

Ashley shrugged then said calmly, "Sure.. Not like I can get mad. I mean we're not actually together or anything, we both agreed to what we wanted from the start." as she studied the television set, staring a hole through it intently.

Deep down, she was just starting to realize that a thing with no complications was going to be the most complicated thing she'd ever let herself agree to doing. She already wanted to tear her hair out and choke him all in one breath.

But she actually felt alive for once, she actually felt a connection to him and she wasn't willing to lose that now, just because she wanted all or nothing and she knew he'd never want anything serious, let alone anything serious with her.

Not when he worked with probably some of the most beautiful women on the planet. Not when he could have pretty much any pretty girl he wanted.

Dean watched her as he bit his lip, tried again reminding himself why he never should have come here in the first place.

If he let her close, then sooner or later, he'd screw this up, find just the absolute threshold her fear rested at, and either intentionally or unintentionally, he'd wind up scaring her until she was gone too.

He hadn't actually met a girl yet who could withstand his 'tests' and his temper, his possessive and selfish nature.

What in the hell made him think she'd ever withstand it? 


	12. escape artist - slightly m rated

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**No complications this chapter.. But maybe a little sexy fluffiness ****with light internal angst****? I mean it is Christmas Eve, duh.. For all you fellow Shield/Mox/Ambrose fans out there, here ya go. My gift to you.**

**It's meant to be almost smut. I wanted to write full on sex, but hey.. Gotta leave a little to the imagination sometimes. ;p Enjoy, guys. And Merry Christmas.**

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She rolled over and grumbled when she felt his arm looped over her with a death grip, making it impossible to move. Sleepily, she shoved at his arm and said "I gotta go piss." as he muttered, "Sleep woman."

"Not when I gotta piss, Jon, move your arm." Ashley muttered as he grumbled and moved his arm, called out to her as she walked out of the room, "Hurry that sexy ass back." while flashing her a smirk. She gave him a mocking salute and walked down the hallway, stumbling around a little in the dark while he lie in the double bed, his arms crossed behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

So far, as far as 'not labeling non relationships' went, this was honestly the best idea he'd ever had. Okay, so it'd been her idea, but still.. It was a damn good one. This took all the pressure for him to be some good guy off. They could be real with each other and even if they were a messed up pair, at least they were honest, they both knew what they wanted for the most part.

Deeper down, the male knew that he wanted more than this, but he just didn't think that logically, he'd ever be able to make it work out. He just wasn't a good guy, a loving or caring and romantic guy. And he could easily admit, Ashley was a better girl than she gave herself credit for, she deserved more than him.

She deserved better.

In the bathroom, Ashley sighed as she looked in the mirror. All she saw were flaws, all she saw were the places she'd never add up to the kind of girl that Dean (Jon) should really be with. All she saw was the damage her life caused her, the havoc it w reaked on her, the scars it left behind.

She scowled as she pictured that curvy bright red haired girl that he'd had a momentary lapse of weakness and slept with after he'd left town, left her behind. "Yeah, and that's exactly why you'd never keep him.. You're just not good enough." she muttered as she lightly punched the counter.

A throat cleared from the door behind her and he stepped in, his arms slipping easily around her waist, his hands resting on the front of her hips as he chuckled and said "What the hell's wrong with ya, woman?"

"Nothing, Jon." Ashley said as she did her best to get her head out of where it'd been before he walked in the room with her. They hadn't really fought today, it'd been pretty damn peaceful and she wanted to keep it that way. Just for tonight, she just wanted to pretend they weren't the pair of messed up individuals they were and pretend they were just normal and happy and all was good.

She knew they were running out of time to be together, in a little less than a week, he'd be back on the road and she'd be nothing but a notch on his belt. Given the circumstances of their situation, she felt like she'd hardly rank as any sort of memory, especially when she knew she was so damn forgettable in the first place.

"Bullshit." he muttered as he leaned in, pressing her into the counter lightly, his lips finding her neck, trailing over it slowly. He tried not to think about how in a little less than a week, he'd be back on the road, he'd have to finally put all this, and her, behind him. Because he had to be honest with himself. There was no way in hell that logically, they'd ever have any shred of a normal and happy relationship.

Not when he knew she deserved so much better. Maybe Orton was right. The thought angered him and he shoved it out of his brain the second it came into it.

His teeth grazed the soft vanilla scented skin on her neck, and he smirked at their reflection in the mirror when he felt her knees buckling a little, causing her to sort of press against him. He turned her around and studied her a moment. Was she already regretting this?

His stomach burned and he actually felt nervous. He hated feeling nervous, he found, it didn't suit him at all.

"Don't look like nothin." he finally muttered as he scooped her up, sat her on the edge of the counter and leaned in, his lips finding hers and pulling her into a flurry of heated and intense kisses. He wanted to distract her from whatever she'd looked so pissed or upset about when he walked into the room just now. He wanted her to forget why they couldn't work and maybe see that they were perfect for each other.

Two equally fucked up halves of a whole.

Ashley backed away a little and muttered "Damn.. Seriously?" as she giggled a little bit and said "We just.." as Dean smirked and said "I know.. But I never said I was done. Just said I was sleepy. Someone fuckin exhausted me." with a wry smirk as he laced his fingers through hers, pinned her hands back against the mirror behind them that hung above the sink she was almost sitting in currently.

"And it's my fault now, huh?" Ashley asked as her hand went up, trailed lightly through his hair. He looked down at where her hand had been trapped beneath his and asked with a raised brow, "How the fuck did ya?" as she held a finger to his lips and muttered, "I'm a bit of an escape artist, Jon.. Or did my cousin and Orton tell you that when they were trying to practically beat it into ya on the road that you weren't allowed anywhere near me?"

"Escape artist, huh? See, now this makes me curious." Dean said with a smirk as he leaned in and nipped at her neck, a small groan of pleasure escaping her lips as she gave a slight giggle and nodding said "Yeah. I mean I can't escape say.. A straight jacket.. But gimme cuffs or something and I can pretty often get outtta them. Not bragging or anything."

"Do I even wanna know how you found this out or.." Dean started as he scooped her off the counter and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, stopping in the hallway, sweeping all the crap on her hallway table off, sitting her on it before attacking her body with kisses, nips and bites, smirking when she not only groaned, but moaned his name quite loudly, and started to tear at his sweats. He shook his head and stopping the assault on her curvy soft body with his mouth he wagged his finger and said "Nope.. You're gonna prove somethin to me, Ash.. You're gonna prove to me just what you can escape."

Her brow quirked and she laughed as she said "Oh really. . Am I now. And what happens when I do?" and again, her hand wandered low, tried to tug at the drawstring on his gray sweats.

"You get exactly what you want." he grumbled against her neck as he left another mark on the side, out in plain view. Picking her up, he jogged down the hall with her and slammed the door to the bedroom shut behind them...


	13. falling

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**Uh oh.. He realizes he's fallen for her.. And she's starting to realize that she's falling for him.. But will this help either of them make a move, or is it all going to backfire? We shall see.**

* * *

She glared at him as the waitress openly flirted with him, though she said nothing. The fact that he at least partially flirted back, mostly she suspected to get a rise out of her, only farther served to piss her off, and when the waitress was gone to the back, Dean looked over at her and said with an amused and annoyingly cocky smirk, "Ya mad now."

"Not at all, Jon" Ashley said with her own smirk, shrugging it off, pretending as if she didn't care when she actually to some degree did care. Their food came and she dug in, looked up at the waitress as she said with a smirk, "Ya know.. My friend here thinks you're hot." as Dean gave her a death glare and said quickly, "I didn't say that." giving her a stiff and slightly painful kick underneath the table.

The waitress glared at both of them and walked away, muttering to herself, probably pissed off at the whole thing by that point and Dean grabbed Ashley's wrist as he said through gritted teeth, "What the fuckin hell was that?"

"Just figured if you wanted to flirt with her, maybe you'd wanna fuck her too?" Ashley said calmly with a shrug as she ate her burger, looked at him, an amused look on her face. She knew he was pissed and she'd probably pay for it later, and then have to dish it out right back to him, but for now, she wasn't worried about it.

They'd been fighting all day today, the whole thing started with a call from Ms. Ronald McDonald herself, who'd apparently decided that Dean had done more than enough 'slumming' as she put it while Dean had her on speaker phone. Apparently, Eva thought this whole thing was more than one sided, and watching him as he'd talked to her, Ashley found herself jealous and wondering if it weren't. She'd thrown his shit into his suitcases and he'd gotten pissed and thrown his suitcases into the yard in the pouring rain, so furious that he hadn't realized that he'd gotten his own clothing soaked and covered in mud until after he'd done it.

Then he'd went off on her about the guys at her shop again, and she'd stormed out, at which point the idiot thought he'd lock her out of her own house. When she'd gotten pissed and taken a tire tool to her own patio door, one of the smaller window panes at the top, reached in and unlocked it, he'd been waiting, and he'd grabbed her roughly.

Which of course, she'd countered by slamming her elbow into his stomach and snarling at him that the next time he locked her out of her own house in the freezing rain, she was going to make him wish he'd never met her.

The whole argument, of course, was stupid, and it was violent, and they'd both said and done things that no two people in a relationship should ever even think of doing to one another but at least it'd been real. At least they weren't sensoring themselves. At least with no labels there was no actual pressure.

But you could fool Ashley, of course, she felt like she had a ton of pressure, she felt it building, she knew she'd explode in a rage sooner or later. She personally hoped it was later.

He glared at her from his spot on the booth and then leaned in, forcefully pulled her closer to him as he saw her cousin Ted and his family walking in, Ted apparently had his downtime now too. Ashley hid her face, but it was too late, and seconds later, Ted doubled back and sat down, looking intently at Dean, arms crossed as he asked his cousin bluntly, "What the hell is this jerk doing here? Did we not have this discussion about how bad he was for you already, Ash?"

"Apparently, Dibiase, she don't see it that way. I tried tellin her myself." Dean spoke as Ted looked at him and said calmly, "And we've had our own discussion too, Good.. And since you can't just keep the hell away from her, looks like I'm gonna have to do what I said I was."

Dean snickered and then said "Sure.. Whatever ya say, Dibiase.. But if you think for one second I'm afraid of you, then I hate to tell ya, you're dead wrong, sunshine. When I want something, I get it. Nothing stands in my way. Or anybody." as he gave Ted a pointed glare.

Ashley spoke up then and said to both males, "For one thing, Ted, I told you, this is my business. I am grown now. And Jon? Hate to tell ya, sunshine, but this is gonna be one time you're gonna be disappointed. I told you already, at the start of this, this was just for 2 weeks. Nothing else. This is just to get each other out of our systems so we can go back to life being the way it was before. Now if you two wanna sit here and give each other the stink eye all damn night, I'm goin outside, and I'm gonna have a smoke." before standing, walking out calmly.

She fumed as she sat down on the step of the 'porch area' of the seafood restaurant, and she bit her lower lip, growled to herself when she heard Randy speaking next to her. "So it is true.. That jackass did have the nerve to show up here." Randy said as Ashley looked up and rolled her eyes before saying, "Yes, Randy, he did. And like I told Ted. I'm letting him stay. Beyond that, we're probably gonna be nothing to each other. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna give in to you, either. You need to realize, Randy, we were just friends and we're always gonna be just friends. I'm better off alone."

Randy leaned her against him and said quietly, "If you'd let me, we could be more. Hell, Ashley, we could be amazing together. And Alanna loves you."

"How is she? How is Sam?" Ashley asked pointedly as he sighed, for a moment looked a little hurt and a little angry at himself before shrugging and saying "They're fine. Better off without me, actually."

"Look. I'm just a rebound, Randy. There's a girl for you out there. But she's not me. I honestly don't think I'm right for anyone. I'm not gonna do Jon one bit of good, hell." she sighed as she looked up at the sky, the stars in it.

She wished somehow that they could be together, of course, but knowing what she did know about Jonathan Good now, she just didn't see it as being even remotely possible. Dean speaking from behind them had her looking up and around, Randy rolling his eyes in disgust, muttering something about seeing where he stood, and walking away, leaving Dean to come out, sit down and take out his own cigarettes.

"Heard ya just now." he remarked as if it were nothing when internally, it meant more to him than he'd dare admitting to himself or anyone else. He lit his cigarette and said calmly, "Ya do realize I'm the fucked up one, right?"

She shook her head and exhaling, she laughed dryly and said "Trust me, Jon, there's shit about me you don't know, and you're probably never gonna know. Remember? This is just us trying to get all this out of our systems. We both agreed to it."

"Wrong, Ashley.. See, I know more about ya than you think I do. But hey, I never agreed to anything, and I still stand by it. I want something, it's gonna happen. You'll see it sooner or later. For now, though, we're going home." Dean asserted calmly as he stood, pulled her up from the step she'd been sitting on. She glared a moment and then sighing said "Fine. Let's just go back home."

She really didn't feel like having yet another argument with him, and she sensed that he was still pretty pissed with her about the waitress thing earlier. It'd been inappropriate, but she had to do something. She couldn't just let him get to her without trying to shove him away, keep him from getting too close, keep herself from letting her guard down with him. She knew how he was and why he was that way, and she knew herself better than anything, what she'd been through, and why this becoming anything beyond just casual sex with them was a very bad idea.

Even though the more he stayed, the longer they were around one another, the blurrier the lines got, the closer she got to crossing them.

Once they were in the car, he looked at her and said calmly, "I'm gonna let that shit with the waitress slide, this time. But don't get cute like that again, or ya not gonna like what happens as a result." before starting her car, driving them back to her house.

Once they were inside, she went to shower, get all the grime and grit from work off, and he sat on the couch thinking about what he'd heard, puzzled by it more than anything. And seeing as how he wasn't getting any answers from her, he started nosing around her place, and found a few photo albums, and what turned out to be a diary hidden on her bookshelf, sitting down, he started reading it, getting engrossed in it, sickened by a lot of the things he read on the pages, some of them apparently tear stained. There it was in black and white, everything that happened to her, everything she'd lived through, seen or done, had done to her.

When it got snatched out of his hands, he looked up and gave her a raised brow then asked, "What? You can go on the fuckin Internet and find out everything but the size of my cock, but I can't try to find stuff out about you? It goes two ways, Ash."

"Damn it, Jon, there are reasons I don't talk about that shit and my private life is private." she said as she looked at him, eyes almost glowing in anger as she tugged at her hair.

"Don't give me that fuckin look, Ash." he said as he stood and looked at her, taking in all the things he knew about her now, all the things she'd lived through too. His mind was jumbled right now, he needed to think.

He walked past her and out the door, walking down the sidewalk, pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

Ashley watched him from the open doorway, her hand on her hip as she muttered "Yeah.. Like I didn't see that one coming when he found out about my own life." while laughing dryly and shutting the door behind her, going back inside, flopping down on her couch.

So he knew the majority of just how bad her own life had been, just why she was this way, why it wouldn't work with them on her end.. Now she was partially curious but mostly afraid of how he'd take knowing the things he knew about her.

Dean walked down the block to a bar and walked in, sliding onto a stool, ordering a beer. He sat there quietly, processing everything he'd just read. It occurred to him that she thought she was unlovable or something, and then it occurred to him that despite all attempts and claims otherwise, he just might be falling for her. This might not just be about sex. He might actually love her. He didn't like the power that gave her, but he knew that he'd actually fallen for her.

That realization prompted him to order a stiffer drink than the beer, so when he did finally catch sight of the time and stumble out into the night, back to her house, he was pretty wasted.

Ashley swore and sat up in bed when she heard him pounding on the door, ramming it with his shoulder as she looked at the clock on the nightstand and called out, "Ya know, Jon, this is fuckin annoying. When you drink, I swear to Christ, you are the single most annoying man I know." as she got up and slid on his t shirt, stumbled down the hallway in the dark before opening the door finally.

"We gotta talk." he said calmly as he looked at her. She rolled her eyes and said "Nope, you gotta sleep. So do I. Look, you get days off. I don't. I gotta work tomorrow, and it's fucking 2 am. Just go to sleep. Leave this alone, damn.." she trailed off as he pressed her into the wall and started kissing her on the lips, then her neck as he picked her up and barely made it to her room with them both.

"What the hell is it with you? Do you just not get it?" she asked, protesting as he looked at her and said "Would you stop talkin, damn it and let me?"

She looked at him, brow raised, waiting on him to say something. He stared at her and said calmly, "This wasn't supposed to fuckin happen. I was supp.. I was supposed t-to fuck ya and forget ya. Damn it, Ashley, I don't wanna feel s-shit for ya."

She gaped at him then laughed a little, pulled him onto the bed and said calmly, "Just sleep before you dig yourself a hole you can't get out of."

Rolling over, she'd been content to just let it all go, she'd stopped him from saying anything that might make her cave in and let her guard down with him, but apparently, this only made him more determined to say something.

"Damn it, listen to m-me." he grumbled as he poked her shoulder until she finally turned over and looked at him. "What?"

"You're not unlovable, okay?" he muttered as he pulled her against him and added "Annoyin as hell, bitchy and almost as mean as I am, yeah.. But not unlovable. But I-I'm not good for you either. I break shit."

"And I don't." she mused as she looked up at him and sighed. He gave her a look and held his finger to her lips as he said calmly, "You shoulda just shot me down that night in the bar. But ya didn't. Now ya getting to me."

She raised a brow then sat up a little asked "Is this going somewhere or..."

"Stuff gets taken from me. Or I wind up hurtin the people I don't wanna hurt, Ash. I ain't some good guy."

"Duh.. That much I know already, okay? And I'm not some angel myself, Jon, so if that's what this is about, can we please, for the love of God, go to sleep now?" she asked, biting her lower lip, looking at him.

He shook his head and said calmly, "Not until ya understand somethin."

"What? That you're the single most annoying drunk person in all of the state of Mississippi right now?" she joked, earning her a firm glare which had her cowering but not enough to stop her from glaring right back and muttering, "Apparently you're also bitchy when you drink."

"No, Ashley. That one way or another, I'm gonna wind up with ya. Ya mine now."

She laughed a little and then said quietly, "Shh. Just sleep before you say something you wind up regretting further down the line. This is whatever it is. Whatever it turns into. Labels freak me the fuck out."

He nodded and then muttered "That shit in that journal.. Did it happen to ya a lot?"

"More than I care to think about, actually. And it's kinda why I did just go completely wild for a while there. Figured I was pretty much trash, that the whole thing happened to me, because for some reason, I bought it all on myself." Ashley admitted as she snuggled against him a little, her hand going over her cheek as she looked up at him and finally said quietly, "If I stop fightin you.. Will you stop pushin this? Just let it happen or not happen? Because labels just completely fuck up everything. And for once in my life, I'm actually kinda happy, and I actually feel kinda safe."

He looked at her a moment, blinking. She felt safe with him? Was she nuts? He didn't know how to process that either, so he just nodded and said quietly, "Fine. But I'm right and ya know it."

She nodded and then said quietly, "Good night, Jon.. " before pulling him into a kiss. Even after she'd fallen asleep, he lie there trying to figure out how this whole him falling for her thing came about, because he certainly hadn't been trying to do that. He'd actually been hoping to hell he'd avoid it. He didn't want to love someone, that gave them entirely too much power.

Especially when like her, he couldn't actually tell if they felt the same way in return.


	14. falling harder

**THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE REVIEWERS! Sorry if anything's OOC, or it's moving really fast, there are reasons for that, just trust me. It's a long rocky road these two are going down, and anything that can happen, will happen. Will they get their happy ending or not? We shall see..**

**Uh oh.. He realizes he's fallen for her.. And she's starting to realize that she's falling for him.. But will this help either of them make a move, or is it all going to backfire? We shall see.**

**The ex, Andy makes an appearance in this chapter.. And it just might bring Dean and Ashley closer.. I tried to make the scenario below as realistic as possible. I apologize if it is not. But I really did try to do that.**

* * *

She'd come in to work on a Camaro today, it was just herself and the room of tools, the chassis of the Camaro and all of the pieces that would inevitably make it a car, hopefully by at least the end of tomorrow. She realized as she stood in the doorway between the garage area and her office space that she didn't actually have to come in today, she could have easily taken the day off, but she really needed to think.

And she couldn't do that with Jon lurking around, throwing his tantrums at random, demanding things from her, getting angry or jealous for no reason. With that being said, it couldn't be argued that she didn't give every single little thing he gave her right back, but sometimes it just got tiring and plain irritating.

The sudden movement caught her off guard, and as soon as she heard Andy's drunken yelling from the darker part of the garage, she grumbled and swore under her breath as she felt around, came up with a 4 way tire tool. Sipping her beer, she tiptoed up behind him calmly, and cleared her throat. "It's called a fuckin restrainin order for a reason." she whispered as he turned around and then said drunkenly, "W-where the fu-fuck is he?"

"Who, dipshit?" Ashley asked, the tire tool raised, a menacing 'do not screw with me' gleam in her eyes as he said "That fuck.. T-the o-one who k-keeps a-answering your phone."

"He's actually at home.. What's the matter Andy, a little scared? I ain't the same girl you used to scare the living shit out of.. If I were you, Andy, I'd get the hell outta here."

"Y-ya not gonna.. Ya w-won't do n-nothin." Andy muttered as he made a clumsy grab for her tire tool around the same time that Dean appeared out of nowhere, knocking him to the ground.

"Seriously.. You kick in the fuckin door? I had that, Jon, damn it.. If you go gettin arrested for anything on downtime, ya never gonna get anywhere with that bastard McMahon's company. Are you a fuckin idiot?" Ashley asked in a rush as it sank in what he'd just done. She turned to him and asked with a raised brow, "What the hell are you doin here?"

Dean shrugged, then said "Less talkin, more draggin." as he started to attempt moving the knocked out form of Andy that lie crumpled on the garage floor. Ashley gave him a raised brow, then said calmly, "He's comin to.. And he's pissed. Go on, Jon.. This ain't worth it. This is between me and this dipshit to settle."

"No, Ash, ya wrong.. Ya belong to me, means I'm gonna stay right here." Dean said firmly as Andy stood, swinging clumsily. The punch connected in a haphazard fashion with Dean's nose and he growled as he slammed the drunk male against a work bench, sending tools flying to the floor, and then at a wall, which his head bounced off of rather nicely. The drunken male, Andy, slid down, landed on the floor in a heap.

Ashley walked over, kicking at her ex boyfriend with the tip of her heavy soled engineer boots as she leaned down then said calmly, "Get your fuckin ass up. C'mon you dumb ape, you're not gonna pass out in my fuckin garage. You're gonna pass out in your own damn truck, while you're waitin for the boys down at the station to come, take ya right back to the rock you crawled out from under. And next time? I'm gonna pull the shotgun on your ass." while trying to haul him off the floor. Dean chuckled and grabbed the man, carried him out the door.

Ashley paced, her hand in her hair, swearing as the adrenaline rush that came from the little brush with her ex and his brand of revenge bought forth started to wear off. While dialing the number of the police station, she peeked out into the parking lot just in time to catch sight of Dean and Andy, one other guy slugging it out.

"I fuckin knew it. He'd bring a friend that spineless, dickless little sack of.." she started as she grabbed the shotgun that sat against the wall behind her desk, tiptoed out, using the fight as a chance to slip up on Andy. She pressed the barrel in his back and said calmly, "Fuckin leave him outta this. You wanna finish everything? I'm standin right here."

"See, I.. I-I don't r-really l-like my odds right now, darlin.. Be sweet, put the gun down." Andy drawled drunkenly as Dean collected himself and then grumbled as he realized that Ashley was about to make this entire thing much messier. "What the fuckin hell are you doin?" he called out as he finished working over Andy's buddy, who'd been hiding in the parking lot. Once he got the guy on his ass, not moving, he jogged over, giving Ashley a look as he chuckled and looked at her ex. "You're gonna get going now, Andy.. See, Ashley's mine. That ain't changin. And if I have to give you the beating that ends your pathetic little life to show ya that? Well, I don't really mind." Dean said as Andy whimpred and Ashley shoved the barrel into his back just a little bit more for emphasis.

"I think you better listen to him, Andrew. Because now that I got you in front of me, on your knees, with a gun in my hands? All of those beatings are comin back.. And my trigger finger is really startin to itch." Ashley said as Andy glared, whimpering.

Dean chuckled and said "Real mature, buddy.. Pissin your pants. I'm betting you're really rethinking this whole situation you've gone and gotten yourself in now, right?"

Ashley stepped back under his watchful gaze and with a nod of okay, and Andy bolted for the door. Or he would've if Dean hadn't lunged at him, sending them both falling onto the pavement, rolling around again, in an all out brawl, again. The cops finally showed up on the scene and broke up the fight, getting all their stories. Luckily, Andy wasn't stupid enough to tell the officers about her having a gun at his back, probably because Dean getting hold of him left him scared and shaken, in itself.

Seeing him that angry sort of made Ashley a little anxious also, but she reminded herself that he was just trying to save her ass. Once Andy was loaded in the car, heading back to jail or prison, Ashley looked at Dean and asked, "What the hell happened? I thought our little fight before I left had you so mad you were packing to leave and go see that other guy?"

Dean shrugged and said "Sat down, thought about it. I leave ya, ya win. Ya get what ya want." as she raised a brow and asked, "Huh?"

"In that journal or whatever.. I was readin it, it seemed like ya seem to pride yaself on seeing just how much a guy can take before they run for the hills. I'm not gonna just give up, not when I already told ya that ya mine, Ashley." Dean said patiently, an amused look on his face at the slightly annoyed one on hers currently.

Ashley shook her head and pressed a cold beer to his eye then said "Come on in the office.. I've got a first aid kit in there.." while processing the fact that he'd actually sort of figured her out. Nobody else really had except her closest family members, of course.

And he hadn't just left after they'd had their worst fight yet that morning.

And he had just saved her ass.. Because she had to admit it, had he not shown up, she never would have been that brave. And Andy probably would have gotten the better of her.

She gently pushed him down in her desk chair, sat on the edge of his lap, cleaning out the scratches on his cheek and neck from the pavement when he and Andy made contact with it.

"That was pretty ballsy though.. Made him piss himself." Dean mused as Ashley shrugged and then said quietly, "Same to you.. What'd you come here for though?"

"That shithead called the house before he came here.. Drunkenly, he might or might not have said that he was going to try here next. And I just wasn't gonna let him get away with that.." Dean said as Ashley nodded but added calmly, "You really shouldn't have put yourself in the middle, I mean..."

His finger found her lips and then he said with a cocky smirk, "How about instead of tellin me not to get in your business, Ashley, you kiss me for savin ya ass just now..."

Ashley smiled a little and leaned in, kissing him as she muttered, "He's gonna come after you now though.. You really sure I'm worth the hassle?"

"Ya better be, Ash, or I just spent almost 2 weeks with ya for no reason." Dean muttered as he looked at her and then said calmly, "I'm not leavin.. Because that's what ya want me to do.. Am I at least a little right?"

She shrugged and then said quietly, "This.. With us being the people we are.. It's not gonna be easy.. Especially with my uncle and my cousin hell bent on keeping this from happening.. But given the hell we've already been through, I think I wanna try.. Just don't make me regret this."

"Me? Yeah, what about you, Sparky, with that temper?" Dean asked as she laughed and said "Fine.. It's a mutual agreement. But we're still not labeling anything. Labels make me jumpy."

"I get it. Same here." Dean said as he picked her up and then said calmly, "Done bein pissed yet?"

"Yeah.. I can work on the Camaro tomorrow. Let's just go home." Ashley muttered as he carried her out the door.


End file.
